


Virgin SacrifICE

by XiuChen4Ever



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Asexual Side Character(s), Crossdressing Without Feminization, Loss of Virginity, M/M, SHapeshifting Dragons, Seduction, Virgin Sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-13 12:43:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 40,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16892844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XiuChen4Ever/pseuds/XiuChen4Ever
Summary: All the girls in Jongdae's village have managed to get themselves either knocked up or caught in flagrante so as to exempt themselves from being offered as the septennial midwinter sacrifice to the ice dragon, Xiumin.But Jongdae's body betrayed him when he attempted to help the ladies out, so somehow that equates to him being forced into a dress and a wig and way too much makeup and abandoned in front of Xiumin's cave.





	Virgin SacrifICE

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt Leaf:** Self-Prompt  
> Every seven years, Jongdae's village must mark the winter solstice by sacrificing a virgin to the ice dragon Xiumin to prevent the beast from devouring all their livestock. The village elder had checked the fine print of their contract, and nowhere did it say that the virgin had to be female.
> 
>  **Author's Note:** This was supposed to be a sassy little PWP where Jongdae gets seduced by a sexy dragon-man, so I'm not exactly sure why it's 40k words or where all this fluffy plot-like substance came from. At least there's still plenty of porn!
> 
> Also, this story involves Jongdae wearing dresses, but he's not feminized any more than a woman is masculinized by wearing a suit. There's no role-playing—everyone involved knows he's a man and appreciates that, but sometimes a guy feels like showing off his toned shoulders and tiny waist in a slinky blue velvet dress, especially when that's what he finds to wear in a dragon's hoard.

#  **❄❄❄❄❄**

Jongdae sighs, wiggling a little to test the strength of the ropes binding his hands.  He could probably get free if he tried—but then he'd still have to escape the iron-barred livestock wagon, elude his heartless uncle and the more-heartless village elder, and even if he did all that, he'd still be running desperately around the countryside in the middle of winter wearing a celadon satin dress.

That's right, a fucking _dress_.  As if being eaten by a dragon for failing to get his dick wet isn't humiliating enough, he has to do it in a stupid, ugly dress.

He scowls down at the shiny material.  They could have at least given him a pink dress, and maybe something slinky rather than fluffy.  He likes pink, or yellow, or blue, or even actual fucking green rather than this pale greyish version of a perfectly nice color.  If they're going to dress him like a girl, they could at least dress him like one with good taste rather than one that wants to look like a fucking anemic shrubbery run amok.

This whole fucking thing is so unfair.  It's not as though he hadn't _tried_ to lose his virginity.  He definitely had! Especially when his best friend Baekhee had come to him, pleading for him to knock her up or at least get caught trying so that she wouldn't be offered to fulfill the sacrifice the ice dragon Xiumin demands on the winter solstice every seven years in return for not eating all the village's delicious sheep.  But Jongdae's dick had refused to cooperate, despite Baekhee's best efforts, and she'd eventually given up, telling the rest of the village girls not to bother with Jongdae and his broken dick.

Now Baekhee is expecting her first child with the innkeeper's boy, Chanyeol, and Jongdae feels like a fucking sheep himself.

"Stupid broken dick," he grumbles, as the wagon jounces him toward his doom.  Stupid Baekhee, stupid Chanyeol, stupid everyone for managing to get laid except for him—a fact that Chanyeol had helpfully pointed out to the dismayed Elder Lee when he realized he'd have to offer a child as a sacrifice since every girl of marriageable age had made sure to take herself off the list.

Elder Lee had pored over the stone tablets carved by the dragon's talon and signed by the original village elder, and nowhere did it indicate the required gender of the sacrifice—it merely specified "virgin" and that's what Jongdae is.

He still doesn't see why they had to shove him in a dress though, not at all buying the "It's tradition" bullshit Elder Lee tried to feed him.  He looks fucking ridiculous, with balled-up rags filling out his bodice in place of the tits he doesn't have and an extra-puffy skirt to obscure the useless dick he does have.  And they made him wear a wig, with a matching poofy bow, and Baekhee herself had applied "sexy" makeup to her former best friend, assuring him that the dragon would find him extremely adorable right before it ate him.

Jongdae feels more like a whore than he does adorable, with his slick red lips, pink blushed cheeks, and heavy eyeliner accenting his naturally long, dark lashes ("It's even waterproof, so the dragon's spit won't smudge it!"), and he sincerely hopes the dragon chokes.

And he sincerely hopes that Baekhee is the first one the dragon devours when it raids the village in fury after finding out it's been duped—Jongdae is sure that the dress nonsense is about trying to pull one over on the beast, and he's just as sure that a creature as old as Xiumin (and with such neat claw-writing) isn't going to be so easy to fool.

In fact, he doesn't even plan to try, so after Elder Lee and Jongdae's asshole uncle Donghoon tie Jongdae to the pillar of ice outside the dragon's lair, bang the giant brass gong that alerts the dragon that his delivery order has arrived, and fuck off back to town as fast as the draft horse can pull the wagon, Jongdae has his last words ready on his lips.  As soon as that giant shimmering white head snakes out of the cave entrance, Jongdae spits them out with venom.

"I'm a boy," he declares, trying not to wet himself, trying hard to glare fiercely at the beast about to devour him, trying not to notice when the creature opens its mouth that its teeth are as long as Jongdae's forearm.

Except that the creature has evidently opened its mouth to _laugh_ at Jongdae.  Well, Jongdae's never heard a dragon laugh before, but it's either doing that or trying to hack up a hairball, and he can't see a single hair on that sleek, scaly body.  

The dragon is actually a bit smaller than Jongdae expected, though it's still fucking huge.  It's about as high at the shoulder as two draft horses stood on top of each other, with neatly folded iridescent-webbed wings, a long, slowly-twitching tail, and an elegantly S-shaped neck beneath a refined reptilian head.  It's covered with shimmering white scales, the size of Jongdae's spread hand on the back and sides, shrinking to the size of his pinky nail in more delicate spots. It's actually kind of cute, with its broad cheekbones and a feline slant to its wide ice-blue eyes, but the spikes growing over said eyes, above its button nose, and running along its spine all the way to the end of that whip-like tail remind him it's probably very lethal, even though it currently looks like it's dying of amusement.

"If you're a boy, why are you wearing _that_?" rumbles the dragon's voice, both a bit higher-pitched than he was expecting—and, well, existing at all.  Though Jongdae supposes he shouldn't be too surprised the beast can talk if it can carve perfectly legible demands into a set of stone tablets.

"Because the village elder is an ass.  My dying request is for you to eat him first."  Jongdae has changed his mind. Baekhee was a good friend for the first two decades of his life—it's not her fault she'd rather fuck a dork than die, and she had at least kissed Jongdae goodbye.

But that regal head just tilts to the side rather adorably, er, alarmingly, and the dragon's voice rumbles forth again.

"Why are you dying?  Were there no healthy virgins?"

Jongdae tilts his own head, because why the fuck would the dragon care if it's going to eat him anyway.  "I'm perfectly healthy," he defends, omitting the fact that his dick doesn't work, because again—why would the dragon care?  It probably just wants to avoid eating someone who tastes of disease.

"Oh good.  But you won't be for long if we leave you out here in the cold—I don't know why they never give you virgins climate-appropriate clothing.  As lovely and alluring as your clavicles are, you must be absolutely freezing in that flimsy get-up."

Jongdae's brain has broken, because instead of eating him, the dragon seems to want to discuss fashion.  Or this is all just some sort of hallucination his dying brain is creating to spare him the horror of his own bloody demise.

Either way, he decides to just roll with it.  "I am really cold," he admits.

"Of course you are," the dragon nods.  "Slide to the other side of the pillar so I can release you."

Jongdae shrugs, because what the hell?  Then he side-steps so that the rope binding him to the ice pillar slides around it, ending up facing back down the hill.  The horse and wagon are a tiny speck in the distance—Uncle Donghoon must have really cracked the whip over the poor creature for them to make such good time.

"Come along, then, little virgin," the dragon rumbles, and Jongdae realizes he's now trailing two lengths of rope from the still-bound hands behind his back.

Again, Jongdae shrugs, and follows the dragon into its lair.

#  **❄❄❄**

The ice dragon known to the villagers as Xiumin seems to prefer things tidy—there's not a gory, dismembered corpse to be seen in the sparkling ice cave the dragon evidently occupies.  Jongdae cranes his neck to look around, surprised that there are jewels and other decorations iced into the walls—paintings and masks and beautifully-gleaming weaponry—and that there is human-sized furniture scattered throughout.

Jongdae starts to think that the dragon isn't going to eat him right away, so he might have time to dive behind something and possibly prolong the inevitable at least.  He wiggles his wrists and arms as they walk (and walk and walk) through the sparkling caves, and by the time they arrive at a human-sized doorway, he's carrying a coil of rope in his hands.

When the dragon turns to look at him, Jongdae jumps a little guiltily, then holds the loosened ropes out as an offering or a shield.

But the beast just nods.  "Good work. This is where we'll sleep—there should be plenty of furs and things to wrap up in if you're cold.  And if you truly are a boy and want to wear boys' clothes, you can borrow some of mine—we should be fairly close in size.  Or you can feel free to help yourself to the scads of pretty dresses—I won't complain either way."

Jongdae lowers his hands and blinks at the icy creature, now almost certain he's hallucinating while freezing to death or something.

The dragon continues.  "Dinner will be at eight, and you're welcome to make yourself at home until then.  If there's anything you need, please tell one of the cats, but don't try to pet them—they really hate it and I won't be able to treat your wounds until dinnertime."

Jongdae blinks again, then he cautiously nods and ducks through the doorway that seems too small for the dragon to chase him through, because his self-preservation instinct is working even if his brain has ground to a halt.

The room he's stepped into is actually rather warm.  It's roughly circular, dominated by a huge canopy bed done in icy shades of blue that compliment the shimmering walls.  There's a fireplace in one corner, blazing merrily, which would explain the warmth. It's flanked by a pair of overstuffed blue velvet armchairs and a matching oversized settee on one side and a dark wooden table for two on the other, complete with ornately-carved high-backed chairs.

There are two huge armoires on the wall opposite the fireplace, and the remaining walls are lined with shelves, all done in a dark wood to match the table and chairs.  The shelves are filled with books, curios, puzzles, and games, all organized neatly and all dust-free. The icy floor of the room is covered with sheepskin rugs, some of which have been dyed into shades of blue to reflect the various gemstones studding the frozen walls.

There are more sheepskins piled on the bed—and on top of them, lounging sedately, is what the dragon evidently calls a "cat" but which Jongdae (and all other sane humans) would call a fucking leopard.

A snow leopard, to be precise, all creamy fur and inky spots and slowly-blinking pale green eyes.  It watches Jongdae with disinterest as he cautiously tiptoes toward the fire, both because he's freezing and because he thinks it might discourage the big cat from coming closer.

Jongdae hunkers with his back to the fire and his eyes locked on the cat, seemingly doomed to be consumed by one predator or another.  Except neither of them seem to have much interest in eating him, and as the adrenaline drains from Jongdae's body, exhaustion takes its place.  He didn't really sleep at all last night, locked in his guarded room so he couldn't de-virginize himself at the last minute (not that his dick was likely to cooperate in that endeavor, even to save its owner's life).

He'd just sat up and stared at the stars outside his window, hating pretty much everyone in his entire village, but especially those that were supposedly his friends and family but were only too happy to feed him to a dragon to save their own lives and livestock.  And then he'd felt like a hypocrite, because seven years ago, all he could remember thinking himself was that he was glad he was a boy and therefore wouldn't be picked when he was an adult.

So he supposes he deserves whatever odd torture this is—perhaps the dragon had meant he'd be devoured at eight, because that's when dragon dinner time is?  And he's just supposed to wait here with his feline jailor until then? He forces back a sniffle, because he'd rather meet death with a snarl than with a sob, plus he has the oddest thought that Baekhee would kill him herself if he ruined his makeup before he got eaten.

The thought of his former best friend scowling at him as she'd done many times before unleashes the tears he'd been determined to suppress.  Why wouldn't his stupid dick just _work_ ?  Then Baekhee would be expecting _his_ baby, and he wouldn't be crouching on the floor in front of a fireplace in the very back of an ice cave waiting to be eaten.

The tears are ruining his makeup and his dress, and he considers changing out of the offensive garment—the dragon had said he could—but he doesn't really want to move around much with the cat watching him so closely, and really, since his dick is useless, he may as well be the virgin maid they dressed him up as.  He's going to get eaten either way, and then Jongdae starts laughing, because he'd really like to have at least gotten laid before he dies—but of course, had he managed to do that, he wouldn't be here in the first place.

His thoughts continue to swirl and circle as he alternately laughs hysterically and attempts futilely to swallow his tears, but then he's flailing with a start as a hand on his shoulder and a sweet expressive voice jolt him back to consciousness.

"Why are you sleeping on the floor?" someone asks, someone with warm hands and huge ice-blue eyes over broad cheekbones and full berry-pink lips.  His fluffy white hair is falling into those strangely feline eyes, and Jongdae has a sudden urge to brush the strands away from the man's face.

"I'm sorry," Jongdae stammers, scrambling out of this stranger's grasp and standing up, then yelping and jumping forward as he almost backs his poofy satin-covered ass directly into the fire.  "I didn't mean to." He scrubs at his eyes, looking around desperately for the dragon or the cat or anything that might want to eat him.

The cat is still lounging on the bed, tip of its fluffy tail twitching, but there's no sign of the dragon—just a man, about Jongdae's height or maybe a bit shorter, dressed in an ice-blue tunic over milk-white hose and soft suede slippers.  He's looking at Jongdae with his head tilted to the side, dangling crystal earring catching the firelight, a small smile on his beautiful face.

"You don't need to apologize.  This is your home, and you can sleep where you like.  I'm just surprised that you'd choose the floor when there's a nice comfortable bed—oh, unless Tannie wouldn't share?"

The ethereal man turns to glare at the snow leopard, who merely blinks at him at first, then heaves what can only be described as a resentful sigh before lazily slinking off the bed to curl up on the settee that suddenly seems perfectly leopard-proportioned.

"There," the man says with a satisfied smile.  He turns back to Jongdae. "Now she's sleeping in her bed, so we can sleep in ours—though maybe you'd like to have dinner first?"

As if on cue, Jongdae's stomach growls.  He hadn't been offered anything that morning when he'd been loaded on the wagon, and it had taken six hours to get to the dragon's cave.  He drags his eyes from the snoozing leopard to the beautiful man that's smiling gently at him.

"I hope you like mutton and kimchi stew.  Kyungsoo swears it's the best thing to restore the circulation, and to be honest, we were expecting another fainting maiden, not—er, whatever you are."

Jongdae blinks, finding his voice somewhere.  "Well, I was expecting to be dead by now, so I guess nobody's day is going according to plan."

The beautiful man laughs, full and rolling and melodic, and Jongdae feels a strange sort of something in his chest.

"I'm so glad you're sassy—I do like the sassy ones!"  He throws an arm around Jongdae's shoulders, tugging him away from the fire.  "Now, my non-fainting non-maiden, let's wrap you up a bit. I find it hard to believe you aren't at least a little chilly in such getup."

The man strides to one of the dark wood armoires, Jongdae tugged reluctantly alongside him, to reveal far more women's clothing than it seems should be able to fit in something that size.  He rifles through the clothing, eying Jongdae's dress from time to time, then pulls out an ermine cloak that he swirls around the startled boy's shoulders.

"There—that should keep you warm, _and_ it goes nicely with your dress.  Now, let's be off to dinner—Kyungsoo hates when folks are late to his table."

Jongdae opens his mouth to protest that he doesn't care whether the cloak matches the dress, because he doesn't care about the dress, but then he catches sight of himself in one of the large mirrors on the back of the armoire doors as the beautiful stranger closes the cabinet once again.  He hasn't ruined his makeup too much—the eyeliner is evidently as waterproof as Baekhee claimed, and whatever blush he's washed away has been replaced by a natural flush. He looks reasonably decent—or at least he does once he straightens his long, wavy wig and brushes the wayward black strands out of his face.

But the man is beckoning for him to follow, gentle smile still in place, and Jongdae is shocked when the man takes his hand to lead him to wherever he's about to be eaten.  Jongdae follows numbly, almost relieved that his ordeal will soon be over, and more than grateful for the additional warmth of the cloak as they stride out into the chilly cave once again.

The strange man doesn't have a cloak of his own, and his outfit in general looks more suitable for summer than for the middle of a frozen mountain, which only furthers Jongdae's sneaking suspicion that this is all a hallucination anyway.  So he manages to smile back a little the next time the stranger smiles over at him, and even has a moment of envy for the way the man's well-developed chest and muscular arms make him look much better in a shapeless tunic than Jongdae ever has.  Maybe he should just stick to dresses—they at least seem to expect their wearers to have Jongdae's tiny waist.

#  **❄❄❄**

The stranger eventually leads him to a large, opulent dining room illuminated by the glowing yellow gems set into the ceiling.  Beneath the starry display is a long, elegantly-carved table with matching ornate chairs that could easily seat a dozen people, and yet seems to be set for a total of three.  The man seats Jongdae at one end of the table, in front of a setting of fine china and finer silver, then he seats himself at the other end.

Now Jongdae is a bit confused.  If this man is some sort of servant, why is he sitting at the lord's place at the head of the table?  There's a setting just to the man's right that Jongdae had expected him to claim—though now that he thinks about it, who else is Jongdae expecting to occupy the head of the table?  The dragon itself?

He snorts at his own ridiculousness, then opens his eyes wide as yet another adorably-dangerous creature waddles up to the table, a huge tureen in its hands—paws—claws?

It's even shorter than Jongdae, and it looks for all the world like some sort of cross between a lizard and a puppy.  Under the tidy white apron and tall chef's hat the creature is wearing, it has pale bluish-purple scaly skin. Its limbs end in four-clawed digits and a short reptilian tail is sweeping behind it, but it has a very canine face, including wide, soulful dark eyes and a leathery black nose.  Its narrow, pointed ears swivel independently, and it keeps one pointed at Jongdae and one at the beautiful stranger as it shuffles to the table under the heavy load.

"Well, was it fainted?  Did you have to carry it?" the creature asks the stranger, who chuckles softly.

"Nope, he walked on his own—though I did find him sleeping in a tiny ball on the floor between the armchairs and the fireplace."

"Probably hiding from the cat," the creature deduces, leathery lips peeling back into a grin when Jongdae lifts his head in shock at the creature's accuracy.  "See, Master Xiu—you really need to keep the beast locked away."

The stranger—Master Xiu?—waves away the creature's concern.  "Come now, Kyungsoo—Tannie's harmless. Why shouldn't she roam free?"

"For one, your 'harmless' pet has tried to kill me—" Kyungsoo consults a notebook it pulls from the pocket of its apron.  "—Four-hundred and twenty-seven times."

When Master Xiu starts to dismiss this, Kyungsoo continues, smoky voice cutting across Master Xiu's velvet one.  "Furthermore, the last time the creature 'roamed free,' it came home pregnant, and its hellspawn have tried to kill me—" Kyungsoo flips a page.  "Two-thousand, six-hundred, and seventy-three times."

"They're only playing, Kyunggie.  You know that," Master Xiu chides.

"Yes, well, if they get to 'play' with me with their pointy teeth and razor-sharp claws, I should get to 'play' with them with my boning knife," Kyungsoo mutters, making Jongdae snort in amusement.

Both of Kyungsoo's ears swivel toward Jongdae's end of the table, and a small smile graces the scaly canine face.  "Maybe the new virgin will help me lay an ambush. Maybe a hole, pointy sticks at the bottom—"

Master Xiu's eyebrows draw down.  "That's enough, Kyunggie. Nobody's going to hurt Tannie or her sweet babies.  You'll just have to learn to get along."

Kyungsoo mutters under its breath, and when it hauls the tureen down to Jongdae's end of the table, he manages to pick up something that sounds vaguely like "—and then I'll hook its evil pointy claws to the ends of the chains, before I—"

Jongdae makes sure to smile his sweetest smile at the creature.  Whatever Kyungsoo is, and regardless of how much time Jongdae may or may not have left to live, he definitely does _not_ want this creature to be the one to decide how he dies.

As if to prove the point, the creature looks Jongdae up and down once it's filled the bowl in front of him with spicy stew.  Its head tilts to one side, translucent membranes flick across the large eyes, and the leathery nostrils flare wide as the creature inhales deeply.

"You smell different from all the other virgins," it announces.

Jongdae holds his smile in place, trying not to be insulted.  "Uh, well, maybe because I'm a boy?"

Those membranes flick across the creature's eyes once again.  "Ah, that must be it. I'm a boy, too, because you humans can never tell—and _yes_ , I'm actually a kobold, even though I'm pale and almost purple.  You humans are so weird about what color people are."

Jongdae blinks, again trying not to take the kobold's already-defensive remarks personally.  Instead, Jongdae says, "It's very nice to meet you. I'm Jongdae—please take care of me."

The kobold tilts its head the other way, then it grins.  "Such a polite little virgin! I think I will take care of you—unless you turn out to be a total cloaca, and then I'll slowly poison your food."

With that, the creature scampers back to the other end of the table, hauling the tureen down the wooden surface as he goes.  Jongdae winces at the sound, noticing that a trail is actually worn into the table top, so this tureen-dragging must be the creature's habit.

Master Xiu starts in on his portion of stew, complimenting the chef, and Jongdae takes that as his cue to dig in.  The stew is really good, but also really, _really_ spicy—maybe they're seasoning him before the dragon eats him?  In any case, Jongdae is fucking _hungry_ , so he eats like it's his last meal—which it very well may be.

He's once again ruefully glad that his eye makeup is waterproof.  He's also grateful that the goblet of sweet, clear water by his elbow keeps magically refilling itself—Jongdae has heard of such trinkets, but has never actually seen one in action, and he studies it carefully, passing his hands over and under it as it fills until he hears Kyungsoo snort at his antics.

Blushing, he leaves the cup alone, concentrating on his stew.  They all eat in relative silence for a few moments, but then Master Xiu swigs deeply from his own magically-refilling goblet before clearing his throat.

"Now, my pretty virgin, since you are an entirely unexpected deviation from the norm, I’d like to propose a change to the usual plan." Master Xiu says as he stirs his stew.  

Jongdae can feel the ethereal man’s frosty eyes on him, waiting for some sort of response, but all he comes up with is, “What plan?”

Then he winces, because he’s not sure he actually wants to know how they plan to serve him to the dragon.  Hopefully, he’ll at least be dead before the thing starts eating him.

But Master Xiu just sighs as if he were expecting such an inane response.  "You virgins never know the plan lately. Your village elders have really been slacking off these last several generations.”  

He leans forward, gesturing with his spoon to punctuate his speech.  “The village of Siheung is supposed to gift me with a marriageable virgin, and then I entertain suitors for her from the village on the other side of the mountain—a little place called Suncheon—while Kyungsoo instructs her in any wifely arts she feels she may be lacking.  Should she not desire to marry any of the eligible bachelors from Suncheon, she must instead train to enter into a trade apprenticeship of some sort—something that contributes to Suncheon's overall happiness or prosperity. In return, they let me harvest a certain number of sheep per year, and they're allowed to choose old or injured animals for my portion to make it less of a burden on them."

Master Xiu explains this all as if it's completely normal and to be expected, but Jongdae's practically basting himself in his own sweat right now.  He frowns. "Wait—what about the dragon?"

Master Xiu tilts his head.  "What about me?"

Jongdae blinks.  "You're the dragon?"

Master Xiu grins.  "Don't you recognize me?"  He bats his big blue kitty eyes which suddenly look a great deal more familiar.

 _Huh._  Jongdae supposes that explains all of the human-sized things scattered around the place.  But still—Jongdae has to be sure. He pokes at his stew, unable to meet the dragon-man's eyes as he asks,  "So... you don't eat the virgins?"

Master Xiu—evidently also Xiumin—looks at Kyungsoo, then they both burst into laughter, Xiumin's rich and musical, the kobold's merry and yippy.  "Of course not—what do you take me for?"

Jongdae's eyebrows crawl beneath his artificial bangs.  "Uh... A dragon?"

More laughter.  "I am that, but I am also civilized.  I will admit to a weakness for good mutton, which is how this whole wives-for-sheep arrangement came to be."  Xiumin licks his lips, but he's looking at Jongdae, not his food. "But I also have another weakness, so I'll give you a choice.  We can stick to the plan, and you can either entertain suitors or I can investigate which skilled trades Suncheon is in need of so you can begin your education to that end.  Or..." He trails off, eyes flicking over Jongdae hungrily.

"Or?" Jongdae asks, because a suitor is definitely going to want a husband with a working dick, and Jongdae would rather not set himself up for failure.  A skilled trade could be an option, but all Jongdae's really good at is singing, and he's not confident Suncheon has any more need of that particular skill than Siheung had.

Xiumin's voice is honey on velvet.  "Or... you could agree to stay here with me for seven years, and serve me however I see fit."

Jongdae swallows, not entirely comfortable with the predatory gaze the dragon is pinning him with.  "However you see fit?" he clarifies. "Like, doing your laundry and stuff?"

The dragon and the kobold share another laugh.  "He's obviously a virgin, Master Xiu," the kobold yips.

"Ah, right.  I shall have to be more plain."  Xiumin leans over his plate, fingers steepled in front of raspberry lips.  "What I meant was, I'd like to personally relieve you of your virginity."

Jongdae swallows again.  Maybe he shouldn't have left the dress on.  "But I'm a boy," he points out yet again.

"That is precisely why I'm interested."

Jongdae is really confused.  How can a male relieve him of his virginity—unless he can turn into a girl as well as a dragon?  But in that case—

"My dick doesn't work," Jongdae blurts, then gapes at his own admission for half a heartbeat before burying his face in his hands.

More laughter rings in Jongdae's ears as he hopes the stew is actually poisoned and that the toxin works quickly.

"That is rather a shame, because I'd prefer you enjoy our encounters.  But mine works just fine, so the offer still stands."

Jongdae is baffled.  If Xiumin is going to turn into a girl, what does it matter if his dick works?  Unless he doesn't plan to turn into a girl. Maybe he'll turn Jongdae into one instead?  He has no idea what a dragon is capable of. Stalling for time, he asks, "Can... Can I think about it?"

Xiumin grins at him, perfectly white teeth on display, and suddenly Jongdae can clearly see the resemblance between this man and the dragon that ushered him into the cave.  "Oh, you can think about it—but you'll be sharing my bed, and I'll do everything I can to influence your decision."

Jongdae feels his face go pale, and hurriedly starts swallowing mouthfuls of spicy stew to put color back in his cheeks before the dragon notices.  Of course, all this does is give him hiccups from eating too much spice too quickly, something that seems to greatly amuse his dining companions.

"Please relax—Jongdae, is it?  I won't force you. I just plan to seduce you."

Jongdae drains his magical water glass, waiting impatiently for it to refill so he can drain it again.  He's far from sure he's willing to be seduced, but he supposes it's better than being eaten. Still, he wishes his magically-refilling glass held something a little stronger as he finishes his meal.

#  **❄❄❄**

After everyone's bowls are empty (and the kobold has burped far louder than a creature his size seems like it should be able to), Kyungsoo sits up straight, evaluating Jongdae with his head tilted to the side once again.

"Master Xiu, do you want me to take your virgin into the ladies' bathing area, even though she is a he?"

Xiumin also tilts his head at Jongdae, and a behavior that has always looked so adorable on puppies and kittens is starting to look downright predatory on these two reptilian creatures.  "Hmm... I do suppose he'll be more comfortable that way. Unless you'd be uncomfortable, Kyunggie?" Xiumin turns to his companion.

Kyungsoo shrugs his periwinkle shoulders.  "Human parts is human parts. I scrub you sometimes, don't I?"

"You are the very best at scrubbing," Xiumin assures the kobold with a smile.

And that's how Jongdae finds himself fully nude and kneeling in surprisingly warm water that covers him to his waist, while a naked (but still visually androgynous) lizard-puppy scrubs away at his back and chest and arms with what feels almost like sandpaper on a stick.  When he complains that the kobold is going to scrub all of his skin right off, the creature just shrugs, flicking those membranes over his huge dark eyes.

"Scales or skin, gotta get the dead stuff off so you can be smooth and shiny."

"I don't think humans are supposed to be shiny," he tries to protest, but the little beast just pinches Jongdae's ass under the water so that he stands up with a yelp, then wields his scrubby stick against Jongdae's lower half.  Jongdae lifts his feet when his ankles are thwacked, spreading his legs and shifting his weight so his merciless attendant can do a thorough job, but he does keep both his hands firmly cupped over his manhood—working or not, that's something he's sure he doesn't want sandblasted.

Finally, the beast nods, seemingly satisfied with his work, then holds out a pot of sweet-scented soap.  "Here—wash your gross human dangly bits while I do your hair."

Jongdae grins at the mention of his hair, earning a dirty look as he scoops some soap out of the pot.  The kobold had _not_ expected Jongdae to take off most of his hair along with his dress, and had made a rather un-kobold-like noise when he turned around to find the virgin suddenly shorn.  Jongdae's amusement at the creature's alarm is possibly why his skin is currently so pink he feels like he's sunburnt from head to toe.

The kobold is similarly viciously thorough with his washing of Jongdae's scalp, and also seems to delight in shoving Jongdae's head under the water to rinse the soap away.  Jongdae insists on scrubbing his own face himself, because he'd like to still have eyebrows when all is said and done.

When the kobold is finally satisfied his charge has been cleaned as much as possible, he hauls the human out of the pool and rubs him vigorously from top to bottom with a terry cloth towel that Jongdae had thought soft until it fell into Kyungsoo's grasp.  He again finds himself kneeling, legs spread, hands protecting his gross human dangly bits from the kobold's thorough attentions.

Finally, he's directed to choose a silk robe from the half-dozen hanging on gleaming golden hooks in the bathing area’s antechamber, and he selects one in a deep wine red.  He could really use some wine about now, and this seems like the only kind he's going to get. At least the kobold hums in approval over his choice, then helps him arrange it nicely around himself.

"There," Kyungsoo announces.  "All fresh and pretty for the master."

Jongdae offers a small smile.  "Do you send all the virgins to the master's bed fresh and pretty?"

Kyungsoo nods.  "Except usually they're fully dressed because you hairless mammals are too delicate for the cold, and need the master's body heat to keep from freezing to death in the night, much to most of their disappointment.  You're the only one he's ever wanted to deflower." The creature bounces the scaly ridges over his eyes in a lecherous manner.

"I'm sure he won't when he sees me like this," Jongdae says, looking at himself in the polished ice that serves as a mirror.  His dark hair is damp and uncombed, falling across the forehead it usually frames. His eyebrows are thick and straight over eyes that people tend to describe as 'intense' even when he doesn't have them lined.  His eyelashes are long and thick, and he considers them one of his better features along with his lips, proud of the way the corners flick up at the end. But his cheekbones are high and sharp and his chin is angular, prompting more than one schoolmate to compare him overall to a giant lizard.

He can't help but smile sardonically at himself.  If he looks like a lizard, at least here he's in good company.

But his current lizard-like companion is shoving him toward the door.  "The master will be thrilled. He likes boys, you're a boy, therefore, you're perfect."

Jongdae snorts, but he allows himself to be prodded toward the bedroom he's apparently going to share with a man who's sometimes a dragon.  A man who apparently likes to seduce other men?

A man who is entirely and undeniably beautiful.

#  **❄❄❄**

Jongdae blinks as he's shoved through the bedroom doorway and subsequently abandoned in the presence of a man who _must_ actually be a dragon, because actual humans can't possibly be so gorgeous.

Xiumin has evidently bathed, too, because his white hair is tousled damply over his forehead—rather like Jongdae's except attractive instead of sloppy—and he's also wearing a silk robe.  His is a creamy white that compliments his coloring, and it's tied only haphazardly around the gorgeous man's sturdy waist, slipping off one shoulder to reveal the well-built body hiding underneath.  His skin is pale and smooth and his dusky pink nipple is exposed, and Jongdae has a strange urge to lick the pebbled skin.

He blushes, suddenly grateful that the kobold scrubbed him pink in the hopes the dragon can't tell, but Xiumin smiles, tilting his head to the side.

"Dragons have exceptionally sharp senses, you know," he informs Jongdae.  "I can hear your heartbeat speed up, but you don't smell like fear."

Jongdae sets his jaw.  "I'm not afraid of you," he declares, even if he's not sure he's telling the truth.

Xiumin grins.  "Then come here, my pretty little virgin.  Come stand with me by the fire, and we'll see if we can't get you nice and hot for me."

Jongdae would like to be a little warmer, so he approaches the fireplace and the man in front of it, doing his best to ignore the leopard lounging on the settee, watching Jongdae as if he were a potentially-pounceable rodent.

Xiumin is giving him an eerily-similar gaze, but Jongdae does his best to ignore that, too, instead choosing to gaze into the crackling flames as he holds his hands out to the offered warmth.

For a moment, the room is nearly silent, save for the crackling of the fire and the low, rhythmic sound coming from the leopard, which Jongdae sincerely hopes is some kind of purr and not an about-to-eat-you noise.

Then, Xiumin speaks, voice almost as low and rough as the leopard's.  "You're exquisite, Jongdae."

Jongdae flicks his eyes to the side, but when he sees the intensity of the dragon's stare, he quickly looks back into the flames.

"You were pretty before, with the makeup and the wig, but like this?  Barefaced and tousle-haired and shy? You're almost irresistible."

Jongdae flicks his gaze back to the dragon man, shifting his weight.  He's not sure what exactly the man wants to do with or to him, but he'd said he wouldn't force anything, and Jongdae intends to hold him to it.

But of course the highly-perceptive dragon is aware that he's put his prey on alert.

"Relax, Jongdae," he purrs.  "I have no intention of harming you.  I just want to touch you. May I do that?  Will you let me hold you in my arms?"

Jongdae tilts his own head, giving the man beside him a sidelong look.  On the one hand, it sounds harmless enough. But on the other, while Jongdae estimates he has a slim chance of being faster than the dragon, he knows he has zero chance of being stronger.  Once the man has hold of him, he's essentially at the dragon's mercy.

But then he sighs, because even if he could out-run the creature, he'd never make it off the frigid mountaintop alone, barefoot in a silk robe.  So really, even this polite permission-asking is an illusion. Jongdae is entirely at the dragon's mercy anyway.

As a last attempt to protect himself from teeth and claws, Jongdae widens his eyes, parts his lips, and tucks his chin so he's looking at the beautiful man through his long thick eyelashes.  He's seen the village girls use this technique on occasion—Baekhee herself was incredibly good at it—and since he seems to be reduced to a blushing maiden, he's going to use all the tools in a maiden's arsenal.

"Please take care of me," he says, trying for sweet but ending up closer to sarcastic.

But Xiumin just laughs.  "Is that a yes?"

Resigned, Jongdae nods, and slowly, Xiumin stalks closer.

The first thing the dragon does is run the backs of his fingers along Jongdae's cheekbone, almost as if he were indulging a cat or gentling a pony.  The tentative touch turns into a caress by the time the dragon's fingertips reach Jongdae's neck, gliding down sensitive skin to dance across the clavicle he'd commented on earlier.

"Beautiful," Xiumin breathes, and Jongdae's own breath hitches.

No one has ever treated him like this—not even Baekhee, when she'd propositioned him in the barn she knew her father would soon be entering to start the evening chores.  She'd just grinned her rectangular grin at him, told him his kids would be adorable, then asked if he'd like to try making one with her.

But Xiumin is tender, reverent with his touch and his words, and it doesn't feel like a joke or a trick.  It feels nice, despite the fact that they're both guys—Jongdae has been keeping tabs on his dick, and it is definitely still there beneath his silk robe.

So he doesn't resist when Xiumin slips an arm around his waist to tug him closer, cooperates when the man drapes Jongdae's arms around his neck, doesn't protest when Xiumin slowly but firmly presses their bodies together, the hand not on Jongdae's waist caressing his bicep, his shoulder, the nape of his neck.

Xiumin's face is hovering beside Jongdae's neck, and he can feel the puffs of the man's breath against his skin.  They're swaying slightly, weight shifting slowly from side to side in time with Xiumin's deep breaths. For a long moment, this is it, and Jongdae starts to relax in the dragon's strong arms.  He's had the sudden realization that the man is probably rather lonely up here on his snowy mountaintop, and while Kyungsoo is certainly entertaining and efficient, he doesn't seem very cuddly.  Maybe the dragon just needs a hug.

But then Xiumin speaks, and his voice is thick and low and rough in a way that does some sort of thing to Jongdae's gut.

"Lovely Jongdae," the dragon murmurs, breath hot against Jongdae's throat.  "I really want to kiss you. Will you allow me?"

Jongdae swallows hard.  He's strangely nervous, as if he wants to make a good impression on the beautiful man that seems to be trying to breathe him completely in.  Of course Jongdae has been kissed before—he's kissed half a dozen of the village girls as dares or as part of various party games, and Baekhee had practically chewed off his lower lip in her attempts to get Jongdae's dick interested enough to knock her up—but he suddenly feels like he never has, like he has no idea what to do.

But Xiumin has pulled away from Jongdae's neck to search his face, big blue eyes drenched with earnest desire, and it seems absolutely impossible to deny that face anything.  So Jongdae gives him a little nod, and the man's rosebud lips tug into a smile so sweet that Jongdae is relieved that he's managed to give the correct answer in order to earn such a reward.

And his other reward is soft lips gently colliding with his, moving slowly, tenderly, almost cautiously against his own.  It's nothing like the shy or awkward or sloppy kisses he's experienced before—this is deliberate, meticulous, purposeful manipulation of lips, and Jongdae can't help but respond, a little hesitantly at first, like a stableboy with a wooden sword stepping into the sparring ring with a knight of the realm.  He knows he's outclassed, and can only hope the obvious expert will lower himself to meet Jongdae's clumsy attempts halfway.

But as soon as Jongdae makes any effort at all to return the kiss, Xiumin makes a delighted noise low in his throat, and it seems to zip straight down Jongdae's spine.  Xiumin does indeed meet Jongdae's awkward attempts, turning them into massages, caresses, and even little nips, making Jongdae gasp in surprise. And unlike Baekhee, who attempted to shove her tongue directly down Jongdae's throat, Xiumin makes no attempt to invade Jongdae's mouth at all—until Jongdae pokes a tentative tongue into his mouth first.

Sure, Xiumin is a guy, and it's weird for two guys to kiss.  But Xiumin also clearly knows what the fuck he's doing, and Jongdae is curious as to what the whole tongue thing is actually supposed to feel like, given that he's absolutely _sure_ Baekhee's version was suboptimal.

This version is almost magical, and Jongdae is awash in sensation.  Xiumin's tongue is caressing his lips, then tickling between lip and gum, then stroking against Jongdae's own tongue, wet and sensual in a way that makes Jongdae's stomach flip.

He doesn't realize he's moaning until Xiumin's arm tightens around his waist, pulling their hips together more sharply, then the dragon slowly and firmly rubs his pelvis up against Jongdae's while just as slowly sliding his tongue in and out of the human's mouth.  The more Jongdae moans, the more tightly Xiumin holds him and the more firmly he can feel the man's definitely-working dick rub up against his own, and then he has to wriggle in Xiumin's grasp because things are getting uncomfortable since—

"My dick!" Jongdae gasps, trying to look down between their sealed-together bodies, as if he could see through his robe to verify with his eyes what his body is already telling him.  "I think... I think it's working!"

Xiumin rumbles smugly against him.  "It sure does seem that way," he agrees, pressing his hips against Jongdae's as if to test the truth of the situation.  "Why did you think it didn't work before?"

Jongdae's face burns, but he's not sure if he's self-conscious about his suddenly-cooperative dick or if he's frustrated that it hadn't cooperated before.  "I mean, it worked before when I was alone, but I tried with a girl, and, uh—"

But Xiumin is laughing, pressing gleeful kisses to Jongdae's mouth and cheekbones and jawline.  "Your dick works just fine—it just doesn't like girls."

Jongdae frowns.  How could it not like the reason for its own existence?  "That doesn't make any sense," he mumbles, not sure how to take Xiumin's evident delight in his body's malfunction.

Xiumin shrugs, beaming at Jongdae.  "Does it have to make sense?"

Jongdae bites his lip.  "It sure would be easier if it just worked like everyone else's," he grumbles.

Xiumin shrugs again.  "It probably would be easier if everyone's bits liked the predictable," he reasons.  Then he grinds his pelvis against Jongdae's one more time. "But I personally think it wouldn't be nearly as much fun."

"But I would have had a kid," Jongdae protests.  "I wouldn't have been stuffed into a dress and abandoned on a mountaintop."

Xiumin tilts his head.  "Lots of people have kids," he dismisses.  "How many people get invited to live in a sparkling, gem-encrusted ice cave with adorable kitties and a rascally kobold and—the best part—a really handsome dragon?"  He arches an angled brow.

Jongdae considers.  "I guess the magic cups are pretty neat," he allows.

Xiumin's other eyebrow joins the first one, then he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.  "I'm not going to be offended, because I haven't properly showed you all the benefits to living with a really handsome dragon, and you have no other frame of reference," he says, and Jongdae isn't sure which of them Xiumin is actually addressing.

Then he opens those ice-blue kitty eyes, fixing them on Jongdae.  "I'm just going to have to work harder. May I unwrap you, lovely Jongdae?"

Jongdae feels himself blushing scarlet.  "Wh-Why?"

"Mmm, because I'd love to caress your beautiful figure."

"It's not beautiful," Jongdae protests.  "I'm too skinny—not strong and beefy like you."

But Xiumin just nuzzles at Jongdae's neck.  "Is there only one kind of beautiful?"

Jongdae swallows hard, feeling the prominence of his throat brush against Xiumin's lips as he does so.  "Uh... Yes?"

Xiumin chuckles against Jongdae's throat.  "So, we've learned you like boys, and you seem to have a definite type.  But lucky for both of us, I seem to be that type. Which is awfully convenient, because you are exactly mine."  He lips at Jongdae's neck, who moans wantonly, much to his own surprise. "Will you let me put my hands on you, beautiful boy, with nothing in the way?"

"I-I-I guess," Jongdae stammers.  He's not beautiful, but he definitely wants Xiumin's hands on him anyway.  If they're anywhere as skilled as his tongue, Jongdae won't survive. Even if it doesn't seem like he's about to be eaten, he was originally sent up here to die, and if that's still his fate, he intends to do it in as glorious a way as possible.

Xiumin tugs loose the knotted silk around Jongdae's waist, letting it fall open to expose a definitely-working cock and a strip of heaving abdomen.  Then Xiumin's warm, firm hands are sliding under the silk to glide over Jongdae's bare chest, pushing the slippery fabric out of their way as they slide up and over Jongdae's shoulders.  The cloth slithers down his body, catching around his bent elbows because his own hands are fisted in Xiumin's robe as if letting go would spell the end of him, and he's fairly sure it will.  It's one thing to be stripped bare before the dragon, and another thing entirely to lay his own eyes on the perfect body beneath the creamy silk robe, so Jongdae clutches the edges close over the man's gorgeous chest in self-defense, hoping Xiumin won't ask if he can remove his own garment.

But Xiumin seems content with this for now, not even breaking away from his oral assault on Jongdae's neck to glance at the rest of his body.  He just glides his palms over Jongdae's bare shoulders and back, humming his satisfaction just behind Jongdae's ear. So Jongdae just moans and whimpers, letting his head fall back against Xiumin's cradling palm so the dragon can better paint his lust across Jongdae's skin.  It doesn't take long until Jongdae's legs are shaking, and Xiumin hums against his throat.

"Come to bed with me, my perfectly-functional virgin."

But Jongdae is suddenly anxious once again.  "Why?"

More eyebrow acrobatics.  "So we can do more of what we were just doing?  Only more comfortably, so that once I make you feel good, I can hold you for a bit while you sleep."

"You won't turn me into a girl?"  He releases Xiumin's robe in favor of bracing his palms on the man's shoulders, but that just enables the abused garment to gape open in a way that is dangerous to Jongdae's health.

Xiumin's eyebrows disappear.  "Why would I want to turn you into a girl?"

Jongdae stares at Xiumin's half-revealed chest so as not to meet his eyes, but he's not sure this is actually any better.  "So you can de-virginize me?"

"Oh, hells," Xiumin says, squeezing his eyes shut and pinching the bridge of his nose.  "You have no concept of two men having sex, do you?"

Xiumin blinks his eyes back open just in time to see Jongdae slowly shaking his head.

"Well, I'll certainly enjoy opening your eyes, my pretty little innocent.  But not tonight. Tonight, I promise not to do anything that you haven't already done yourself—er, you _have_ touched yourself, right?"

Jongdae nods, blush blooming over his cheeks.

A smile blooms over Xiumin's own cheeks.  "That's all we're going to do—I just want to show you how good it feels to fall apart in someone's arms."  He tightens his arms around Jongdae, then puts his beautiful mouth right by the human's bright pink ear. "I'm going to kiss and rub and touch you, and you can kiss and rub and touch me, too, if you want."

Jongdae wants.  He's surprised at how much he wants.  He's never really wanted to kiss or touch a man before, though he's always admired the trim figures and flexible bodies of the acrobat troupes that occasionally make their way through the village on their way from big city to big city.  And he always liked it when the other boys would take off their tunics in the heat of summer when they had strenuous work to do, but that was just because he'd always hoped to end up with a broad, muscular frame, instead of a waist tinier than most girls.

But Xiumin has a muscular frame, exceptional in all the ways Jongdae finds himself lacking, so if that's what he means by being the human's "type" then Jongdae supposes he's right.  And now he's been given permission to touch all of that perfection, so he tentatively brings one hand down from the man's rounded shoulder and lays an open palm against Xiumin's exposed chest.  It's warm and firm and the dragon flexes it beneath his hand, making the muscle bunch harder and more solid under Jongdae's appreciative touch.

 _Gorgeous_.

"Thanks," Xiumin says, and Jongdae blushes, not meaning to say that out loud.

But then, Jongdae doesn't exactly mean to tug Xiumin over to the bed and then drag him beneath the covers, either, and yet that's exactly what happens.  He could say it's because he's chilly without his robe (which has been abandoned in a puddle on the floor), but really, it's because he's so relieved that his dick actually works that he's not too concerned about who it's decided to work for.  Or rather, he's absolutely fine with his dick being attracted to Xiumin—the man is fucking _stunning_ , and he has the body Jongdae's always wanted and now has free rein to explore, and Xiumin says such sweet things to Jongdae and touches him so nicely.  The fact that he also has a dick is really quite low on Jongdae's list of concerns.

Especially when Xiumin is kissing him like it's his favorite thing in the world, murmuring compliments and promises against his lips. Things like "You're so brave—you didn't even scream when I came out of the cave," and "I love how silky your hair is," and "I'm going to make you feel so good, my sweet little virgin," come pouring forth on moans and sighs, and all Jongdae can do is flush scarlet and moan and sigh in return, albeit wordlessly.

No one has ever said anything like that to Jongdae before, so he really has no idea how to react.  He's just the alewench's bastard, the one that sometimes sings in the tavern, the one with a voice good enough to earn some coppers from travelers from time to time, but that the locals wish would shut the fuck up when paying outsiders aren't around.  His voice is fine, sure, but he only knows half a dozen songs, and the entire village is absolutely sick of his meagre repertoire.

And certainly no one has called him brave or beautiful, and no one has ever been dedicated to bringing him pleasure like this.  No one has pulled Jongdae on top of them so they had two free hands to run over his back and arms and waist and occasionally even his ass.  No one has paid him enough attention to notice when their touch caused him to wince, and then found the knot beneath his shoulder blade caused by hunching over in the wagon for six hours, just to tenderly massage it away.

So while it's new and strange to be lying groin-to-groin with someone whose arousal is very obvious and very much male, only a layer or two of silk keeping them from being skin-to-skin, it's not really any more new or strange than any of the other sensations that are threatening to overwhelm him.  And his dick—his very much working dick—is clearly not at all bothered by the fact that it isn't the only sausage at this party.

And Xiumin doesn't seem to mind his lack of articulation, seemingly happy with any positive reaction to his lips and hands and words, until finally Jongdae, desperate for some friction on his dick, rolls his hips against the man beneath him, just a little tiny bit.  But of course that's enough for the highly-perceptive dragon to murmur against Jongdae's neck.

"Sweet little Jongdae, I can take care of that for you.  If you allow me to touch you, I'll make you feel really good."

And Xiumin has proven himself more than skilled at pleasing the rest of Jongdae's body, so he can't babble out an agreement fast enough.  As soon as an intelligible "Touch me" leaves Jongdae's lips, he finds himself on his side, one of Xiumin's arms wrapped around his shoulders, the other hand running down his body to wrap around his dick.  Jongdae moans, burying his face in Xiumin's neck because he's half-afraid his dick will go back to sleep now that someone else has acknowledged it, but no—it seems to be getting even harder as Xiumin strokes it gently.

"Fuck," Jongdae spits out.

Xiumin growls happily into Jongdae's ear.  "Yes, my pretty little one—move your hips if you want, tell me how you like it, let me make you feel good."

But Jongdae is a virgin, after all, so he doesn't need much to feel good.  Someone else is touching his dick, Jongdae has one hand full of warm, muscular chest and the other full of fluffy white hair, and he whines as he smashes his face further against the beautiful man's neck.  He snaps his hips once, twice, and then he's groaning against Xiumin's skin, all the built-up tension fleeing his body in white-hot pulses as Xiumin pulls him even closer to that magnificent chest.

Chanyeol had told him once that girls really like it if you say their name as you finish, because it proves you were thinking about them and not imagining someone else.  Jongdae supposes boys probably like the same thing, but all he can manage is a breathy "'Min..." as he continues to throb and twitch and whine through his orgasm.

Someone else's hand is way better than his own, that's for damn sure.  

Especially when it's also accompanied by someone else's lips, pressing gentle kisses to his face and murmuring how sexy it is to watch him climax, how much fun it is that he's so responsive, and how he can't fucking wait to deflower him properly.

Xiumin holds Jongdae tight, one hand loosely curled around Jongdae's softening manhood, his own arousal tenting his robe against Jongdae's hip.

"You're still..." Jongdae mumbles, not sure how to finish the sentence or even why he started it in the first place.

"I'm still," Xiumin agrees.  "I'll take care of it in a minute—unless you want to help?"

Jongdae considers.  Unlike with a female partner, he at least knows how to make a dick feel good.  Chanyeol had tried to explain things to Jongdae, things about buttons and hoods and men in boats and who knows what else—Jongdae had tuned out after a while—and he'd never actually gotten far enough with Baekhee that he could even catch a glimpse of what the fuck Chanyeol was talking about.  In any case, it seemed complicated.

But dicks are simple.  Just rub for results. And Xiumin did indeed make Jongdae feel good—so fucking good—so the least he can do is give the guy a literal hand.

"I'll help," Jongdae says, resting his hand on Xiumin's silk-covered thigh.

This earns him another adoring smile and several more kisses, then Xiumin smiles against his lips.

"You can touch me whenever you want," he murmurs.

Jongdae blushes.  He supposes a hand on a thigh isn't actually much of a hand, but it's just a dick, after all.  Jongdae can totally handle this.

So he does, slipping his hand inside Xiumin's robe to touch someone else's dick for the first time.  It feels a lot like his own (surprise!), but it does seem a little thicker. He can't see what he's doing and he's not sure he wants to, but it's familiar enough to roll his wrist and stroke the erection in his hand, even if it's a little weird because it's sort of like his dick is the wrong way around and he's not actually feeling anything himself.

But Xiumin is definitely feeling something.  He's moaning into their kiss, one arm wrapped tightly around Jongdae's shoulders to press their chests close together, even as he leaves space between their abdomens for Jongdae's hand to do its thing.  And Jongdae does his best for Xiumin, enjoying the moans the man is producing.

But evidently Xiumin is not a hypersensitive virgin, and it seems like something else will be needed to bring the man off before Jongdae's arm gets tired (and Xiumin's dick starts to chafe).  Jongdae wracks his brain, then remembers how hot it was when Xiumin talked to him. Then he chuckles, because he's been used to the villagers telling him to shut up his whole life, and suddenly he has nothing to say.

Xiumin hums in response to Jongdae's laugh, and not wanting to have to explain himself, Jongdae blurts the first vaguely complimentary thing that comes to his mind.

"You have pretty eyes.  Like a cat. Your hair is like a dandelion puff—you're a white fluffy cat with blue eyes."

Jongdae bites his lip before he says anything else dumb, because that right there was definitely not sexy.  It might not even count as complimentary.

Xiumin seems to find it hilarious, but Jongdae just buries his face back in the man's neck.

"Yep—definitely a virgin," Xiumin chuckles, drawing a whine from Jongdae's bright pink face.

"You should have just eaten me," Jongdae laments, ceasing his wrist movements and releasing his grip on Xiumin's dick.

"Oh, I will soon enough," Xiumin promises, pressing his hips to Jongdae's to pin the retreating hand in place.  When Jongdae tenses, Xiumin laughs. "Not like that—just in a metaphorical, sexy way. You'll like it, and you'll beg me to do it again."

Jongdae presses his lips together, keeping his face buried where no one with pretty blue eyes can see his skin burst into flames.

But Xiumin wraps his palm around his own erection, stroking gently before wrapping his fingers around Jongdae's, bringing their hands together to glide over his now-slick cock.  "I can't wait to make you beg, little virgin. I can't wait to have you writhing beneath me, moaning so sweetly. If I kiss you again, will you moan for me some more?"

Jongdae did enjoy the kissing part, so he nods, and then Xiumin's lips capture his.  The dragon is really good at the kissing part, and Jongdae melts against him, letting his mouth be plundered by the dragon's talented tongue.  He does indeed moan, though he's not sure he'd classify the noise he's making as "sweet." More like "possibly dying" or even "already dead and hungry for human flesh."

But Xiumin seems to enjoy the sounds, adding deep, throaty moans of his own as he moves Jongdae's hand firmly on his slippery cock.  And even though he just came harder than he ever has by himself, Jongdae's dick is stirring between them again—which, of course, the dragon notices.

"Mmm, my little virgin may not yet have stamina, but you certainly are eager," Xiumin purrs.  "Shall I make us both feel good?"

Jongdae doesn't need to be coaxed.  "Please," he gasps.

The dragon tilts his head back, eyes closed.  "Ohh, such beautiful begging," he sighs. Then his head snaps forward, eyes focusing sharply on Jongdae's lust-blanked face.  "Do it again."

"Please!" Jongdae moans, because this man is impossible to deny, with those eyes and that smirk and the way he's thrown his robe open as he moves his hips closer to Jongdae's.

Jongdae closes his eyes, unable to watch as Xiumin wraps their entwined fingers around both cocks at once, holding them together in the tunnel of their hands.  Then he thrusts slowly, rubbing the head of his cock against the underside of Jongdae's, and Jongdae can't help but roll his own hips back, chasing the stimulation as Xiumin's cock withdraws.

The dragon growls, rolling them so Jongdae is on his back and Xiumin is braced on one arm above him.  He claims a hungry kiss, then leans back, letting go of their cocks. Jongdae whimpers at the loss of sensation, but Xiumin shushes him, untying and shrugging out of his robe to fully reveal a chiseled torso, jutting cock, and glorious thighs flexed thickly as they straddle Jongdae's hips.  He reaches for a shelf built in to the headboard, grabbing a vial of what turns out to be thick, scented oil that he drizzles over his erection and Jongdae's.

"Use both hands," he murmurs, leaning forward again to cage Jongdae between mighty arms and re-capture his lips.

Jongdae obeys, wrapping his other hand where Xiumin's used to be, then gurgling like a drowning man when Xiumin starts thrusting rhythmically.  The friction on his dick is nice, but there's something so fucking hot about being pinned beneath the stronger man and rhythmically pressed into the bedding, something that makes him feel small and soft and vulnerable in a way that wearing a dress failed to do.

Every whimper Jongdae makes pulls a growl from the dragon's lips, and when Xiumin's lips retreat for a beat longer than he expects, Jongdae opens his eyes.  Xiumin has him caged tightly between iron-bound arms and meaty thighs, but even if he didn't, the icy blue eyes would still have him pinned immobile on the bed.  The dragon has one corner of his full lower lip trapped between those gleaming white teeth, and he looks so predatory, so hungry, that Jongdae can only feel like a field mouse beneath the paw of a cat.

Jongdae's eyes roll as he seeks to avoid the piercing gaze, and, like the mouse in question, he wriggles beneath his captor, squeezing the tunnel of his hands tighter as he bucks his hips and arches his spine against the sheets.  He throws his head back and to the side, and Xiumin practically snarls at the way his thrashing has exposed his throat to the beast above him.

Jongdae squeaks as Xiumin lunges for him, then yelps as he feels teeth against his skin.  His chest is pinned down by inescapable arms as the dragon bites and sucks at his neck, leaving his hips to roll and twist as he keens beneath his devourer.  If he'd have known this is what it's like to be eaten by a dragon, Jongdae would have fucking volunteered.

All of the writhing and thrashing has brought Jongdae back to the edge of ecstasy, and when the dragon applies an especially-sharp bit of suction against his throat, he falls over with a wail, adding to the slickness between his palms.  With a snarling scream, the dragon chases after him, coating Jongdae's stomach in so much hot spend.

As his pleasure pulses all over his whimpering prey, Xiumin's hips stutter and slow, and his lips gentle over bruised flesh.  His scream tapers into a sigh, and as Jongdae comes down from his own high, he starts to think that there might be more exciting things in this glittering cave than magically-refilling goblets.

"I'll stay," he pants, hands still locked around a pair of softening cocks.  "But I'll never last seven years—my heart will explode long before then."

Xiumin's laugh is pleased.  "Poor excitable little Jongdae—I haven't even managed to get inside you yet."

Jongdae's brain stalls.  "In—Inside me?"

The dragon's chuckle is smug.  "Oh yes—the next time you hear me scream for you, I'll be filling your sweet little body to the brim."

Jongdae feels like he should be more concerned about that, but he can't keep his eyes open any more.  Still, he tries to at least ascertain if he's likely to survive.

"Will I scream, too?" he asks, though that's not quite the query he intended.

But the dragon's laughter rolls over him like a warm sheepskin.  "Oh, you'll definitely scream, my pretty little human. I'll make absolutely sure of it."

#  **❄❄❄**

When Jongdae wakes up the next morning, he's incredibly confused as to where he is for a long moment.  He'd been having a dream about a dragon and an ice cave, but he's far too warm for that to be real. Almost sweating, actually.  The blankets seem really heavy and the bed is rumbling, but that's less concerning than the fact that his face is being covered in slobber.

"Baekhee, no," he tries to protest, but it's hard to inhale enough air to be very loud.  "My dick's not broken—it just likes boys."

But Baekhee just makes a strange chuffing noise, pins his head more firmly to the bed with her claws, and starts biting at his ear.

"That hurts," Jongdae whines, and suddenly his ear is released as a husky voice explodes above him.

"Off!  Shoo! Begone, you slinking hellcats.  Stop trying to eat the master's new toy!"

And then Jongdae can breathe properly as the weight removes itself from his body in chunks, and his head is reluctantly abandoned.  He sits up, swiping at his face, alarmed when he sees a smear of blood on the back of his hand. He stares at the four pairs of pale green eyes that are locked onto his every flail, then turns his head to locate the tsking sound, focusing bleary eyes on the scaly periwinkle face of Kyungsoo.

The kobold sighs when he sees the blood.  "Come along—let's get you cleaned up before the master sees you with extra holes."  He tugs at the bloody hand with his surprisingly-gentle claws, and Jongdae allows himself to be dragged from beneath the sheepskins and the watchful eyes of the snow leopards. There are indeed four of them now, three of them slightly smaller and a bit scruffier-looking than the one that Jongdae assumes is Tan.

Reflexively, Jongdae cups his groin as he sidles away from the slowly-blinking cats, finding his abandoned robe neatly folded on the wooden table.  He knows that his hands wouldn't actually protect him from being emasculated by the oversized cats, but he's seen barn kittens play and sees no reason to tempt these upscaled versions by flaunting anything remotely bouncy or dangly where they can see it.

He pulls the robe on, never turning his back to the flock (Herd?  Clump?) of beasts at the foot of the bed. Feeling considerably less vulnerable than he actually is now that he's no longer naked, he turns to the apron-clad kobold.

"Should I start my own notebook of near-death experiences?" he asks, only half-joking.

Kyungsoo grins at him.  "You probably should—it's only going to get worse.  You're warm, and you reek of the master, whom they adore.  You're gonna wake up covered in cats every morning."

"Is there a way I can wake up not in one's mouth?" Jongdae asks, wiping more blood from his ear.

Kyungsoo just laughs, a barking sound that makes all the leopards flick their ears and narrow their eyes.  "Chainmail pajamas?" he suggests, wrapping the ermine cloak around Jongdae's shoulders before dragging him off to the bathing area.

Jongdae's eyebrows lift.  "Whoa, do you have those?"

The kobold snickers.  "No."

Jongdae's face falls.  "Oh."

#  **❄❄❄**

When Jongdae has freshened up, Kyungsoo rubs some sort of tingly salve on the tooth-nicks and claw-dents in his face, promising he'll be healed by dinnertime.  Then he trots alongside the human back to the still-cat-infested sleeping chamber, where he flings open the armoire from which Xiumin had pulled the ermine cloak the night before.

"Hmm, I think this royal blue would flatter your skin tone," the kobold decides, holding out a crushed-velvet dress toward Jongdae.

Jongdae frowns.  "I told you, I'm a boy."

The kobold shrugs.  "You're gonna freeze to death in the master's clothes.  All he wears are sleeveless tunics and tights."

"Why doesn't _he_ freeze to death?" Jongdae asks bitterly.

"'Cause he's an ice dragon—obviously," Kyungsoo informs him in a cutting tone.  "He could run around naked and be fine, unlike your delicate mammalian ass." He eyes Jongdae critically.  "Besides, this particular dress will emphasize how wide your shoulders are compared to your tiny waist, and it'll cling to your round little buns.  You'll look way hotter than you will in the master's shapeless potato sacks, plus you'll be way warmer."

Jongdae sighs but accepts the garment, pulling it over his head and allowing the kobold to do up the elaborate lacing along his spine.  He watches in the mirror as the slinky blue fabric is drawn snug around his body, grateful that this dress, at least, seems to be designed for someone without much of a bust, the neckline being cut in a rectangular scoop that exposes his collarbones.  The shoulders are puffed just a bit before the long sleeves hug his arms, and the kobold is right that the dress was cut to cling—it's quite obvious that Jongdae isn't female.

"There," the kobold declares with a pat to Jongdae's velvet-covered ass, and as the human turns in front of the mirror, the fabric catches the light with a mottled sheen.  "Now the master will definitely want to eat you."

"I'm pretty sure he already did," Jongdae says, fingers moving to touch the deep purple bloom on his throat just under his jaw.

Kyungsoo laughs.  "He was skipping like a schoolboy this morning, singing and shaking his tiny, nonexistent ass while he waited for his scales."

Jongdae blushes, then tilts his head.  "So, what, he's like the opposite of a werewolf or something?  Scaly by day, sexy by night?"

"Pretty much," the kobold agrees, draping the snowy ermine around Jongdae's shoulders once again. "Now let's go feed you—I made rice porridge."

"Ooh!"  Jongdae's brows go up along with the corners of his mouth.  "So, you're like, the chef around here?" Jongdae follows the scampering lizard-puppy to the dining area.

"Chef, medic, tailor, tutor, gardener, and janitor, among other things," Kyungsoo recites.  "But you're here to help, at least for the next seven years, so that'll be nice—well, it will be, once I have you nice and trained.  You'll probably be a huge pain in my ass for the first year or so." He pulls out the chair at the foot of the table, gesturing for Jongdae to sit, then ladles porridge into two fine porcelain bowls.

"Sorry," Jongdae says, ducking his chin.  "I'll try to learn quickly." Hungry after last night's activities, Jongdae lifts a heaping spoonful into his mouth, then sighs happily.  "Especially if it means I'll learn to cook like this."

Kyungsoo preens at the praise.  "Well. You might never be _this_ good.  But you won't poison anybody—unless you want to."

Jongdae tries not to choke on his mouthful.  As long as he keeps praising the creature, he'll probably be okay.

Kyungsoo is merrily spooning porridge into his own mouth, electing to sit at Jongdae's left hand rather than at the master's end of the table like he had at dinner.  "So—what sort of training do you already have?"

Jongdae sighs.  "Not much, I guess.  I sing pretty well, but besides that—"

Kyungsoo sits up, ears pointing vertical.  "You can sing?"

Jongdae hangs his head.  "I know it's kind of useless, but—"

But the kobold is clapping gleefully.  "Oh, the master will be so pleased. He _adores_ music, but I can only sing for so long.  Now _you_ can sing for him, and I can get shit done."

Jongdae pokes at his stew.  "Ah, but I don't know very many songs.  I'm sure he'll get bored."

"We'll teach you more," the excitable reptilian declares.  "We have a whole room full of instruments and sheet music and everything—the master calls it the 'conservatory' because he likes to feel fancy."  The kobold's tone is fondly mocking.

Kyungsoo's enthusiasm is contagious, and a broad grin creeps over Jongdae's face.  To be able to sing without being yelled at is enough reason to stay with the dragon, even without the incredible way Xiumin touched him in the night.  He puts on his most appealing look. "Can I see it after breakfast?"

"After breakfast, and the dishes," the kobold counters, flicking the membranes over his dark eyes.  "The master insists on keeping the place immaculate."

Jongdae's smile is undimmed.  If he can actually learn more songs, then when he goes home in seven years, the villagers might not hate his singing so much.  Or, if they do, perhaps he can join a troupe of traveling entertainers or something, and see the whole world.

But then his smile falters.  He hasn't even known the dragon and the kobold for a full day's cycle, but he still feels a sense of loss at the idea of leaving them.  And he's fairly sure the attachment will only grow—both the affable dragon and the irascible kobold are amusing and likable. But the dragon hadn't said he'd wanted another companion, he'd said he wanted someone to serve him, and to claim Jongdae's virginity.  Jongdae should try to remember that this is temporary and entirely physical, and try not to fall for the first person to touch him like the blushing maid his dress used to belong to.

#  **❄❄❄**

The conservatory is fascinating.  The walls seem to be made of ice and accented with precious stones like all the other rooms, but they're covered in beautiful intricate tapestries of unicorns and rainbows and dragons, and instead of the thick sheepskins, the floor is adorned with colorful rugs.  It's full of all of the instruments Jongdae has ever seen or heard of, plus several he hasn't.

And much to Jongdae's surprise, Kyungsoo bows and greets the instruments as he enters.  And even more to Jongdae's surprise, the instruments greet him back.

"Kyungsoo!" the lute cries, hopping off the shelf and running toward the kobold on tiny little legs.

"Teukie!" the kobold answers, scooping the instrument up and cradling it in his arms for a moment before setting it back on the rug.  "I've brought a guest to meet you all."

Jongdae looks around, very aware of the many impossible eyes that are watching him curiously.  He bows politely. "Hello everyone, my name is Jongdae. Please take care of me."

"Oh, so pretty!"

"What nice manners!"

"What funny hair!"

"Heechul, that's rude!"  The lute lectures the bongo set giggling on the shelf.  The instrument turns to Jongdae. "Your hair is a lovely color, Princess.  I'm sure it will grow back quickly."

Jongdae smiles.  "Thanks, but I like my hair short.  And I'm actually a boy."

Silence from all the instruments, then the bass fiddle speaks up.  "Uh... what's a boy?"

Jongdae turns to Kyungsoo for help, and the kobold rolls his huge dark eyes.  "The only humans they've ever seen have been the virgins, and they've all been girls.  The first one told them to call her Princess and so they think that's what all humans are to be called.  They have no concept of gender, seeing as they don't really have one themselves, so you'll have to forgive their sheltered ignorance."

Jongdae nods.  "'I've certainly been called worse things," he smiles, then turns back to the rapt audience of instruments.  "But maybe you could call me Prince instead. Or just Jongdae's fine, too."

"Ahh," the harp intones, as if it had discovered the secret.  "Shorter name for shorter hair. Humans are so interesting."

"Yes, so interesting!" comes the chorus.

Jongdae grins at them and at Kyungsoo, who once again steps forward, getting the orchestra's attention.  "Prince Jongdae would like to learn to sing some new songs for the Master." He casts a sidelong glance at the human.  "But you'll probably need to drop the master's favorites down in key—"

Jongdae interrupts with a hand on the kobold's shoulder.  "No, I'm sure it's fine. I can sing most songs in the female key."

Kyungsoo raises a scaly brow.  "Oh. Well then, carry on. I'll be back when it's time for the prince's lunch."

A chorus of obedient voices promises to take good care of their new charge, then Kyungsoo bows and leaves Jongdae surrounded by animated instruments.

"I'm Leeteuk," states the lute, which seems to be the leader of this raucous group.  It bows as deeply as it can without toppling over. "What kind of songs do you want to learn, Prince?"

"Uh, whatever the master's favorite is, I guess," Jongdae answers, curious as to the dragon's taste in music.

"The master has lots of favorites!" an adorable little rooster figurine crows from one of the ornate gold-leafed shelves.  It seems to be made of lacquered wood, and it's brightly painted in shades of purple with accents of gold. It struts along the shelf toward him, then performs an elaborate bow, painted wings blatantly on display.  "I'm Ryeowook, and I'll teach you to sing the high notes that the master likes best."

A cleverly-articulated silver snake slithers over, bright sapphire eyes sparkling.  "The master likes low notes, too! I'm Kyuhyun, and I'm a much better singer than that silly screechy bird."

"But neither of them are as good as I am," says a ceramic dog, glazed bright red and metallic copper.  "I'm Yesung, and I can sing _all_ the notes."

"We'll _all_ help him," Leeteuk declares, and the three singing beasts blink obedient eyes at the lute.

But when the stringed instrument turns back to Jongdae, the dog and the rooster exchange a glance, then they sneak up on the snake, poking at it with paws or beak and then looking innocent and attentive when the snake whips its flexible neck around to glare.  Then of course while the snake is distracted by one perpetrator, the other seizes the opportunity to poke the slinky links, acting blameless in turn when the serpent's head swings around to hiss at the new threat.

Jongdae snorts at their antics, and the lute whips around to glare once again at the trio.  "Stop misbehaving in front of the prince!" he admonishes. "We need all three of you for proper harmony.  You're all good, you're all pretty, now let's start with 'Reminisce'."

All the instruments shuffle around, ready to pluck, bow, or thump themselves, and at the lute's signal, they all start to play.  Jongdae stands, rapt, as the animated items create a beautiful symphony, while the enchanted animals take the vocal part in turns, at times all singing together in a lovely three-part harmony.  When the last note dies away, Jongdae applauds enthusiastically.

"That was amazing!  You're all wonderful!" he gushes, still totally enthralled by the fact that instruments exist which talk and play themselves, not to mention that they do so absolutely perfectly.

"Yeah, we're pretty awesome," the bongo agrees.

"Now it's your turn," says the harp, plucking out the song's intro as the rest of the instruments remain silent, watching him expectantly.

Jongdae doesn't remember all of the words, or even all of the melody, but he does his best anyway, assisted by the purple rooster who flutters onto his shoulder after trading a smug look with the other animals when Jongdae's voice seems to match its range the closest.  The sweet-voiced creature sings softly in Jongdae's ear, feeding him the notes and syllables he needs. When he's done, the instruments give him a round of applause, the bongo pummeling itself loudest of all.

"You're a natural talent, and a quick learner," Leeteuk praises.  "The master will be very pleased."

"Your voice is the prettiest of all the princesses," the bass fiddle declares, and the other instruments agree.  "Is that because you're a prince?"

Jongdae blushes.  "I don't think so," he says.  "My mom has a nice singing voice, and my dad was probably a traveling troubadour.  So it's probably just in my blood."

"We don't have any blood," the xylophone states.  "We're wonderful because Yixing made us this way."

"Who's Yixing?" Jongdae asks, trying not to be envious of whoever is capable of making such amazements.

"Yixing is the master's friend," says the brass horn.

"Yixing is a faun," says the fiddle.

"Oh," says Jongdae, somehow relieved that Yixing isn't a human, then feels suddenly insecure because fauns have notorious libidos and evidently so does his dragon, and then he feels foolish for thinking of the ethereal Xiumin as _his_.  If anyone is anyone's, surely it's the other way around, and that only for a mere seven years.  

Suddenly, Jongdae wants to do whatever he can to make the dragon's icy blue eyes light up with delight.  If he pleases the beautiful man well enough, maybe Jongdae can live in this magical world with him forever.

"Can we try the song again?" he asks, eyes falling on the lute.

"Anything our prince desires," Leeteuk answers, and the harp begins the song's introduction from the top.

Jongdae closes his eyes, trying to feel the music flow through him.  It had been his favorite solace in the village, and it might just be the key to his future.

#  **❄❄❄**

Jongdae practices with the instruments all morning, grateful when Kyungsoo merely brings him a tray of sandwiches and one of the magically-refilling cups instead of taking him back to eat in the dining room.  The kobold stays to listen to the song Jongdae's been working on, head tilted to the side and translucent membranes flicking silently as he listens.

"You really are good at singing," the creature announces around the sandwich in his mouth when the song concludes, making Jongdae's cheeks bloom with heat.  

"They've been teaching me well," Jongdae deflects, but the kobold snorts.

"They taught all the other virgins well, too, but there are only a handful that I'd ever voluntarily listen to, and you're definitely the best of the lot."

"Well, thanks," Jongdae mutters, uncomfortable with taking too much credit for a talent he was born with.

Kyungsoo polishes off another two sandwiches, leaving the rest of the tray with Jongdae while he gets on with the afternoon's work.  Jongdae sings through the afternoon, grateful for the cup that never runs out of water. He manages to learn two songs, and is putting the polish on a third, toying with a bit of variation on the last chorus as he sings the song through again.

He's startled by applause and an excited "Bravo!" as he lets the last note linger, and when his eyes fly open they focus on Xiumin's perfect figure lounging against the doorframe.

"You're full of surprises, aren't you, my delightful little virgin?" the grinning man asks, pulling another blush to Jongdae's cheeks.

The instruments all cheer at the master's presence, and he kneels to greet them as Jongdae tries to regain his composure.

"I'm not the one who turns from a dragon into the sexiest possible version of a human," Jongdae mutters as he hides his face against the rooster who has remained loyally on his shoulder, but of course the dragon's enhanced hearing picks up his retort.

Xiumin laughs.  "Gorgeous, spirited, and sings like a nightingale," he praises.  "What more could a dragon want?"

"A lady dragon?" Jongdae asks before prudence can restrain his tongue.

But Xiumin just laughs again.  "Been there, done that, have the cantankerous offspring to prove it," he retorts.  "Most of my kind are downright hostile to other dragons and anyone else gets eaten—I'm rather an anomaly in that regard.  My mate left me long ago for a larger, meaner dragon, but one of my sons, Minhyung, still visits me from time to time. He's the only one of the clutch to inherit my temperament, so we like to share a bottle of spirits from time to time and gripe about the rest of our kind."  

He smiles softly at Jongdae.  "You needn't worry about competition for my attention, my dear little human.  You've agreed to stay, and I won't look at another, regardless of species, as long as you're here."  He rakes his gaze over Jongdae's velvet-covered figure, hooded eyes reflecting icy desire. "Besides, why would I look anywhere else when _this_ is right in front of me?"

The purple rooster flutters back to his shelf as Xiumin crosses the rug-strewn floor, his suede boots making him as silent as the leopards he seems to adore.  "I'm supposed to be bringing you to dinner, my lovely Jongdae, but that dress leaves very little to the imagination. I'm half inclined to take you straight to bed instead."

Jongdae whimpers with anticipation as the dragon takes him into his sturdy embrace, pulling him close enough so his velvet-covered bulge rubs against Xiumin's hose-covered one and trailing hot kisses down Jongdae's neck to his exposed collarbones.  He cups Jongdae's ass in hungry hands. "This dress is downright sinful on you. Are you tempting me on purpose, hot little Jongdae?"

Jongdae's dick seems inclined to be cooperative today, too, and he has to struggle to ignore the hands mapping his body and answer the question.  "Kyungsoo picked it out," he gasps. "He said you'd want to eat me."

Xiumin nuzzles at the bite mark on Jongdae's neck from the night before.  "Oh, I definitely look forward to eating you," he murmurs, hot breath making Jongdae's skin tingle.  "But I can hear your little tummy complaining, so let's fill it before I fill you."

Jongdae is indeed rather hungry, so he doesn't resist as the dragon laces their fingers together and leads him from the room, both of them waving and bowing to the animated orchestra as they exit.  

It takes longer than usual to get to the dining hall, because Xiumin's eyes keep wandering to Jongdae's velvet groin and then the human finds himself pressed against a tapestry when the dragon's decorum breaks.  Jongdae gasps and moans and does his best to respond in kind to Xiumin's lips and tongue and hands until his stomach rumbles loud enough to penetrate the dragon's fog of lust, prompting him to tug his prize toward the dining hall yet again.

#  **❄❄❄**

When they finally make it to the long wooden table, lips swollen and both of them sporting obvious arousal thanks to their form-fitting clothing, Kyungsoo has his clawed hands on his apron-wrapped hips, scowling at them in disgust.

"Your mutton is getting cold," he informs them.  "Stop sucking face and come eat."

They obey, both looking sheepish as Xiumin seats Jongdae before scurrying to the head of the table.

"We're just getting to know each other," the dragon defends.  "He's agreed to stay, so building a relationship is important."  He sits down regally.

"Really." The kobold crosses his arms, unconvinced.

"Really," affirms the dragon, doing his best to look angelic while Jongdae tries not to laugh.

"Uh-huh.  What's his favorite color?" Kyungsoo quizzes, then laughs at the dragon's stricken look.

"It's pink," Jongdae volunteers.  "And I'm pretty sure his is blue."  If the furnishings in the bedroom and the dragon's own clothing are any indication, that is.

Xiumin's face lights up and he favors Jongdae with a wide grin.  "It is!" He turns smugly to the still-nonplussed kobold. "See? We're totally in synch already."

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes.  "Just eat, you horny fools."

Jongdae looks down at his fine china plate.  Today's meal seems to be mutton chops and what appears to be a salad of mixed greens and some mottled berries.  He picks up a leaf of what might be spinach and looks at the kobold questioningly.

"Just eat it—it's good for you," the reptilian states, tossing a berry into his own mouth.

Unwilling to argue with a creature that can twirl his meat knife around his fingertips like Kyungsoo is currently doing, Jongdae eats the leaf.  It isn't terrible, and the berries are really good. So is the mutton, perfectly seasoned and much more tender than anything he's had in his own village.  He eats heartily, doing his best to stuff his face between the questions the dragon is peppering him with to the kobold's extreme amusement, now seemingly determined to get to know him properly.  

They go through the routine questions regarding parents' occupations (Xiumin's parents were famous for marauding until a paladin showed up and did them in), listing of siblings (Jongdae has an older brother that left to be a sailor and hasn't been heard from since, Xiumin has several dozen which tend to try to eat him whenever they happen to meet), and favorite foods (Jongdae likes steamed buns, Xiumin likes—surprise—mutton).

The talk turns to favorite leisure time activities, and Jongdae learns that as a dragon, Xiumin enjoys hunting (non-sentient animals only), flying to perch on lonely mountaintops where his footprints in the snow are the only ones, and swooping low over roads to scare the piss out of travelers.  In human form, he enjoys reading, music, and—actual surprise—dancing, which is how he first encountered Yixing the faun.

"Can you dance?" Xiumin asks, eyes hopeful.

Sadly, Jongdae shakes his head.  "Not very well."

But disappointment only tugs at those icy blue eyes for a moment.  "I'll teach you," the dragon decides. "I'll stay up with you all night, and we'll dance together."

Jongdae smiles at the determination in Xiumin's voice, and he resolves to be an attentive student if that's what pleases this beautiful man.  "I'd enjoy that," he says, and is rewarded with a glowing smile.

"What do you like to do for fun?" the dragon asks, head cocked to the side appealingly.

Jongdae thinks.  "Well, the most fun was when I got to sing for travelers at the tavern where my mother works.  But usually I just minded the general store for my uncle Donghoon. He's away on buying trips a lot, so I pretty much did that all day, every day.  Sometimes my friend Baekhee would stop by and chat and mimic all the other customers as they tried stuff on or complained about things, and if I ever had free time when it was still light outside, I'd go way out in the fields where I could sing and no one would yell at me."

Both other males are staring at Jongdae, faces slack.  Kyungsoo recovers first. "Well, that's just fucking sad," the kobold says.  "Is everyone in the village as overworked as you were?"

Jongdae shakes his head.  "Everybody works, but most people have either a regular day off or a slow season.  But the general store is always busy, and since my brother went to sea there was just me to run it.  I didn't mind—it was interesting to see what people would buy, and I got to talk to folks all day." He shrugs.  "What else would I do if I weren't at the store?"

Kyungsoo's translucent membranes flicker over his dark eyes.  "Don't kids your age usually hang out at dance halls?"

"There isn't one."

"What about the theater, or bard shows?"

"No theater, and traveling bard shows rarely stop at a village so small—but I did enjoy the few I managed to see."

Kyungsoo's lip curls in disgust.  "Your village must be fucking boring."

"It really is," Jongdae sighs.  "I think it's because people keep moving away, especially when a sacrifice year is coming up."

"Sacrifice year?"  Xiumin looks confused.

"Yeah—you know, why I'm here.  The whole sacrifice-a-virgin-to-the-dragon deal."  Jongdae looks at the dragon in question quizzically.

Xiumin drops his face into his palm.  "Oh, hells. Does no one bother to read the contracts they're fulfilling these days?"

"The village elder read it very closely—that's why he decided to sacrifice me rather than a child, even though I'm a boy."  Jongdae pokes at his mutton.

Xiumin lifts his head, mouth agape.  "Why would they send a child?"

Jongdae shrugs.  "Because there were no other virgins.  Everyone else either let themselves get caught having sex, or got knocked up."

This time, the exasperated dragon lets his head fall back, eyes squeezed shut.  "Oh, my wings and claws. I was wondering why the quality had been decreasing over the last couple terms—not that _you_ aren't spectacular, my sweet Jongdae, but the last few virgins were... shall we say... difficult to work with."

Jongdae snorts.  "Well, the village is hardly going to send the best of a generation to be eaten."

Xiumin huffs in frustration.  "Nowhere does the contract say I'm going to eat them!  It says I'm to be presented with a virgin every seven years and if they fail to do so they give me the right to consume up to a tenth of their sheep.  It's supposed to be like a scholarship. People should be competing, not running away!"

The dragon scowls.  "No wonder none of the recent virgins ever wanted to visit the village when I offered to take them—their families and friends literally sent them up here to die.  And you—you really thought I was actually going to eat you. Did they _tell_ you I was going to eat you?"

Jongdae nods.  They'd told him repeatedly.  Gleefully, almost.

Xiumin hisses, sounding extremely dragon-ish, and puffs of white disperse into the air from his nostrils.

"Frigid fucking hells.  This will have to be straightened out, or I'm going to end up with a fucking infant tied to my pillar."

"Several," Jongdae corrects.  "They were saying they'd have to send two children to equal the meal that one young adult would be, so you'd probably get, like, five babies or something."

Xiumin's feline eyes are wide and he's shaking his head frantically.  "Oh no, we can't be having that. Kyungsoo would kill them. And then me."

The kobold is nodding.  "I would. I would eat very well for a while."

"Gross," Xiumin chides, cutting judgemental eyes at the creature beside him.

Kyungsoo shrugs.  "Meat is meat."

Jongdae stares at the reptilians in shock.  "I thought you were civilized."

Xiumin grins, white teeth glinting.  "I said _I_ was civilized.  Kobolds are filthy degenerates."

Kyungsoo stabs his knife deep into the table a hair's breadth away from Xiumin's forearm, who doesn't even flinch.  "Says the dragon who makes me scrub sheep guts off his stupid scaly face at least twice a month because he has no fucking table manners."  The kobold returns to his meal, using a claw to shred his meat in place of his still-quivering knife.

"I have excellent table manners," Xiumin retorts, entirely unoffended as he swirls his goblet, pinky lifted elegantly.  "But sometimes a dragon dines without a table, and therefore without the manners as well."

Jongdae looks down at his plate, suddenly less hungry for mutton.  He picks at his salad as the dragon continues.

"Speaking of mutton, we'll need to offer an alternate compensation to the people of Suncheon in return for their sheep, since I won't be sharing my precious virgin with them this time."

"This is going to mean more work for me, isn't it?" the kobold gripes.  "You're going to make me go down there, aren't you?"

Xiumin smiles at the periwinkle creature.  "Well, _I_ can't exactly do it, now, can I?"

"You could if you went at night," Kyungsoo counters.  

"You know that's not going to work," the dragon dismisses.  "If they even let me through the palisade at night, I'd just end up in one of the holding cells 'til morning, and neither the village guards nor I would be very happy when the sun came up."

"Well, what do you want me to do, exactly?" asks the incredulous kobold.  "Skip through the gates, demand to see the village elder, then politely explain that the dragon that eats their sheep will be reneging on the whole virgin-training-and-delivery thing because after decades of celibacy he's decided that fucking a pretty boy through his bed every night is much more appealing than their stringy mutton, but he still needs to eat so he's sent me down to work out some other form of compensation instead?"

But the dragon is nodding.  "Pretty much, yeah." He smiles sweetly at the canine reptilian, batting his eyes and holding his balled fists up to his cheeks in what Jongdae considers a near-lethal display of aegyo.

But evidently kobolds are not susceptible to humanesque charms, because Kyungsoo makes a disgusted face as he glares at Xiumin.  "And how do you plan to ensure my safety?" he questions. "The last time I went down there, some pipsqueaks actually shot arrows at me from the walls before the guard captain recognized me.  My hide might be hideous, but I still would rather not have it filled with holes."

"It's not hideous," Jongdae pipes up.  "It's a really nice color, and you keep it so glossy."

Two faces swivel towards him, then two mouths form satisfied smiles.  Suddenly feeling threatened, Jongdae sinks lower in his seat.

"Jongdae!" coos the beautiful man at the head of the table.  "How would you like to accompany our Kyungsoo to Suncheon?"

Jongdae swallows.  "Uh, I've never been to another village before," he admits, excitement building a little before it's smashed by a stray thought.  "But, uh, if I'm the virgin they were supposed to get, would they try to keep me, even though I'm not a girl?"

Xiumin smiles lasciviously.  "Oh, you won't be a virgin when you visit Suncheon.  Some would argue you're not a virgin anymore as it is, but I plan to make very sure all traces of virginity are obliterated and you're thoroughly claimed before I send you anywhere."

Jongdae thinks he should probably find this declaration more alarming than reassuring, but his pulse speeds up a little and his stomach flips in anticipation.  "Oh," is all he says, but the dragon smiles wider and Jongdae remembers that the beast can hear his heart hammering away in his chest.

Kyungsoo is grinning fondly at Jongdae as well.  "How about this: If you agree to be my meat shield and dragon-decree-corroborator, I'll convince this frigid miser to relinquish some of his vast pile of gold.  Then we can plan our trip on market day, and I'll help you get some properly warm men's clothing."

But Xiumin is pouting at his scaly companion.  "But he looks so pretty in the dresses," the dragon protests.  "I like it when his body is on display for me." Icy blue eyes rake over Jongdae's form, heating the air between them.

"Then I'll buy him some toasty-warm nut-huggers," the kobold responds, rolling his huge dark eyes.  "You humans and your obsession with fleshy protuberances. I refuse to sew padding into his crotch like the last virgin demanded in her tops."

"He doesn't need it," the dragon dismisses, heated gaze still on Jongdae (who is glad his crotch is obscured by the table).  "He's already fucking perfect."

"Uh, thanks, I guess," Jongdae mumbles to his salad.  "I think you're perfect, too."

"Free with compliments for everyone today, I see,"  Xiumin laughs. "Fine then, my sweet, polite little human will accompany our irritable little kobold to Suncheon and I'll finance a trip to the marketplace.  You'll still be adorable all bundled up, and I'll have your beautiful body naked every night, anyway."

Jongdae tries to ignore his blush and finish his meal, listening to the kobold and the dragon hammer out the details of the escapade to Suncheon.  He's really curious as to whether the village will be much like his own, but he's worried about the meeting with the village elder. Will he be expected to say anything?  What if he offends someone or makes a mistake that commits the dragon to something he would be opposed to? What if he buys clothes Xiumin doesn't like? What if he—

"—that is, if Jongdae is okay with that."

Jongdae looks up when he hears the dragon mention his name.  "What am I okay with?"

"The master wants to wash you himself in the dragonbaths," the kobold explains.  "But I think they'll be too cold for your tender human flesh."

"Oh."  Jongdae tilts his head.  "Why can't the master wash me in the human baths?"  His face heats anew at the thought of the beautiful man naked and soapy and touching his body.

The two males at the other end of the table tilt their own heads in response, then they glance at each other.

"I never use the ladies' bathing area," Xiumin states.  "I would never want to make my guests uncomfortable."

"But there are no ladies here, are there?" Jongdae asks, receiving twin head shakes.  "So until there are, it's just _my_ bathing area, and I wouldn't be uncomfortable if either of you used it, with or without me."

A predatory smile spreads across Xiumin's perfect face.  "In that case, my persuasive little thing, I shall scrub you very well indeed as soon as you're finished with your meal."

Jongdae's plate empties in record time.

#  **❄❄❄**

The ladies' bathing area—now just Jongdae's bathing area, since no ladies are in residence—seemed spacious yesterday when the kobold was accompanying Jongdae in the bath.  Today, his co-bather is a very hungry-looking dragon-man, and the room feels infinitely smaller.

Xiumin stands behind Jongdae, who is already blushing at himself in the mirror of polished ice that dominates the antechamber of the bathing area.  The beautiful dragon smiles, a toothy, predatory grin as he hovers his hands over Jongdae's velvet-covered body.

"May I undress you, my lovely virgin?"

Jongdae slowly nods, and Xiumin's hands descend to the lacing along Jongdae's spine.

"Such a perfect figure," the dragon praises as he slowly loosens the satin laces.  "So slender, but far from delicate." When his hands reach the bottom of the laces, he rests them around Jongdae's waist for a moment before sliding the warm material off the human's shoulders.

Jongdae shivers, but he's not sure if it's from the chill as his flesh is exposed, or from the sensation of those firm hands sliding over said flesh.  In either case, it makes Xiumin smile in the mirror.

"I want to kiss you everywhere, Jongdae.  Your skin is so enticing."

It takes Jongdae two tries before sound comes from his too-tight throat.  "You—You can."

Another smile, then the dragon presses those curved lips to the sensitive junction of Jongdae's neck and shoulder.  Someone moans wantonly as the caress of Xiumin's lips ignites Jongdae's body like a fire, as if the human's libido was merely stoked last night, waiting to come to life at the dragon's rousing touch.

Xiumin chuckles, pushing velvet down Jongdae's arms until the dress bunches around the human's narrow hips.  "Jongdae, my sweet—I am supposed to be seducing you, but when you moan for me like that, you really test my control."

"I can't help it," Jongdae pants.  "You made me feel so good last night, and then you kissed me before dinner—it's all I can think about."

"That makes two of us," Xiumin purrs, chuckling again when the dress he's coaxing from Jongdae's body is hung up on a certain something just below the boy's hips.

"I'm going to enjoy bathing you almost as much as I'll enjoy taking you, I think," Xiumin laughs when he has the human's body bared before him, flushed with arousal.  "So handsome, so responsive. I want to touch your gorgeous body _everywhere_.  I want to hear that beautiful voice beg for me again."

"Please," Jongdae sighs obligingly.  "Please touch me."

But Xiumin does not touch Jongdae.  He turns around and faces the icy wall that somehow doesn't melt in this steamy environment.  He presses himself against it for a moment, speaking over his shoulder to the human.

"Go get in the bath, my tempting virgin, before I forget myself and take you right here."

Jongdae swallows hard, then obediently wades into the toasty warm bathwater, shivering again at the stark contrast with the air.  He's almost sure what the dragon means to do to him, because Xiumin promised not to hurt him and there are only so many ways one man can be non-fatally "inside" another.  But all doubts are removed when a very nude Xiumin steps into the water a few moments later, walks up behind Jongdae, slides hot palms over his hips, and presses his thick arousal against Jongdae's ass.

"I'm going to make you feel _so good_ , little virgin," the dragon moans, rolling his hips once, prodding at the human with his eager cock.  "But please, my little beauty—sit down, so I can wash and prepare you properly."

Jongdae's a little nervous about being "prepared" because it once again makes him feel like something the dragon is having for supper, but he obeys, sinking to his knees in the warm pool, thereby submerging everything below his narrow waist.

"Oh, so much better, my sweet Jongdae," Xiumin sighs, shifting around to kneel in a similar fashion in front of him.

Now they're just two shirtless men sharing a bath.  Nothing too arousing about that—Jongdae used to swim in the miller's pond in the summer, and then all the boys were shirtless.  This, he can handle—until Xiumin reaches for a pot of minty-scented soap and starts rubbing his fingers against Jongdae's scalp.

Jongdae bows his head under the dragon's touch, partially to make it easier for the other man to reach, partially to muffle his own embarrassing noises of pleasure that he can't seem to stop from coming out of his throat.  And just as Jongdae thinks he might survive this sensory onslaught, those sinful hands start sliding soap all over Jongdae's body.

Xiumin's scrubs are more like caresses, and Jongdae is a little afraid he's got the opposite problem with his uncooperative cock.  Instead of refusing to function, he's a little afraid it's going to function _too_ well and he'll be a drowsy, incoherent mess even before the dragon touches him below the waist.

"You wear your arousal so beautifully, my stunning virgin," Xiumin coos, and Jongdae can only respond with a desperate whine.  "Would you like to wash me, or should I just finish what I've started and let you recover while I wash myself?"

Desperate not to embarrass himself, Jongdae grabs for the pot of soap.  "Wanna wash you," he manages. "Wanna t-touch you."

"Oh, by all means, my pretty pet—touch away."  Xiumin gestures to his own form.

Jongdae's hands are shaking as he reaches soapy fingers for the dragon's fluffy white hair.  But as soon as Jongdae touches the sexy dragon-man, Xiumin melts, half-closed eyes and throaty little noises resembling nothing so much as a contented cat.  A grin spreads over Jongdae's face as this powerful creature slumps for him, leaning close, sturdy fingers sneaking up out of the warm water to grip Jongdae's waist.

And, oh, when Jongdae dares to let his hands spread soap down Xiumin's bowed neck, across those rounded shoulders, the dragon man groans, burying that perfect face in the curve between Jongdae's neck and shoulder.  Xiumin's pleased sounds vibrate through both of them as Jongdae rubs the dragon's back, tracing all those lovely muscles, feeling warm skin shiver beneath his hands.

But then Jongdae has to slide his hands around to the front, slipping them over the ripples of Xiumin's abs, and the treacherous dragon leans back and smiles at him.  Jongdae freezes, unable to touch the perfect body in front of him while those icy blue cat eyes are watching him, but Xiumin places his own hands over Jongdae's and rubs them over that gorgeous chest.

Jongdae's face must be doing some kind of thing because the dragon's eyes darken and he leans in to claim Jongdae's mouth with his own.  Xiumin's mouth is hot and hungry and he pulls Jongdae closer by the hips, and Jongdae moans against the dragon's lips, face flushing with pleasure and embarrassment as the first brush of Xiumin's rigid cock against his own overwhelms his control, making him pulse helplessly into the warm water between them.

The moan turns into a whine as ecstasy is fully eclipsed by shame, but Xiumin only hums and pulls Jongdae closer, kissing him tenderly, a smile upon his lips.

"You are truly a delight, Jongdae," he purrs.  "So beautifully responsive, so gratifyingly easy to please."

"It's embarrassing," Jongdae whines, burying his scarlet face in Xiumin's shoulder.

"It's adorable," Xiumin counters, leaning back and pressing his smile against Jongdae's pout repeatedly until he gets a reluctant response that quickly becomes more enthusiastic.  "And nothing to fret about. Were you always able to effortlessly hold those long, beautiful high notes I heard you demonstrating earlier?"

Jongdae shakes his head.  "Of course not, I practiced a lot—oh."

Xiumin grins as realization dawns.  "I'll make _sure_ you get plenty of practice at this, as well," the smirking dragon assures Jongdae.  "Now let's finish washing and rinse all this soap off, so we can move on to the fun part."

"I'm not sure I can handle the fun part," Jongdae mutters, but he washes himself thoroughly anyway.

He absolutely does _not_ look at Xiumin as he does so, choosing instead to face one of the pearl-ornamented icy walls and scrub, making sure to pay special attention to areas that pretty blue eyes might want to look at or touch or otherwise interact with in any way.  He ducks below the water repeatedly to rinse, shaking his head like one of the sheepdogs after swimming in the pond.

Xiumin's musical laugh echoes through the steamy chamber, and Jongdae turns to meet the dragon's amused gaze, blue eyes obscured into happy crescents.  He's so beautiful, standing there with his perfect, muscular body, his perfect, half-aroused cock, his perfect, _perfect_ face.  He's beautiful, yet he wants _Jongdae_ , wants Jongdae to touch him, wants to make Jongdae feel good.  

Suddenly, Jongdae is done asking why, done worrying about later, done questioning why his body wants this gorgeous man instead of a pretty girl.  His body wants, and this is his, at least for now. Feeling as though he's managed to slip off to the empty fields with several hours ahead of him to fill with his favorite song, Jongdae reaches out and takes what he wants.

With determined strides, Jongdae splashes toward the dragon, intent on devouring as much pleasure as possible.  Xiumin's angled brow lifts and his eyes widen a bit, but he just licks his lips and lifts his arms to close them around Jongdae as he crashes against that sculpted chest.  Jongdae presses their lips together and Xiumin lets him lead, lets him explore, the dragon making a pleased sort of thrum deep in his throat as Jongdae attempts to swallow him whole.

Jongdae's making noises, too, some of which sound suspiciously like "Min," or maybe "mine," but if the dragon hears he only growls more in response, tightening his arms around Jongdae as the human tangles his fingers through damp strands of silver-white hair, nibbles on raspberry lips, ruts up against sturdy hips.  He doesn't flinch away or object, hells, he barely even notices when Xiumin's warm palms slide from his back to his ass, curving around each cheek, kneading, caressing, squeezing. He's too focused on Xiumin's addicting mouth, on his warm torso, on the now-fully-aroused cock dragging wetly against his own.

"Dae," the dragon pants into their kiss, and Jongdae shivers at the way the short syllable rolls off his tongue.  "Dae, you deserve the bed, not the edge of the bath." Xiumin pushes gently at Jongdae's biceps. "Not for the first time, at least."

Jongdae whines but lets the dragon separate their mouths.  "Hurry," he urges. "Want you. Can't wait." Then his foggy brain offers up the word that seems to make the dragon weak.  "Please," Jongdae adds, voice breathy and desperate.

Xiumin makes a noise that might be described as a whimper had it not come from the throat of a mighty dragon.  He presses his forehead against Jongdae's, angling his head so that their lips can't meet, and after several ragged breaths he growls, "Jongdae, you are going to absolutely _ruin_ me."

Then he turns on his heel, catches Jongdae's wrist, and practically drags him out of the tub.  

#  **❄❄❄**

It seems like years but it's probably only a few minutes until the dragon literally throws Jongdae's still-slightly-damp body on the bed and then pounces on top of him.  Neither of them had bothered with robes, streaking through the icy halls in only their slippers to ensure enough traction to scamper to the bedroom as efficiently as possible, much to the disgust of the kobold who'd had to witness this undignified parade.

But Jongdae can't be embarrassed or even very apologetic toward the poor reptilian, because his mind is only focused on Xiumin and how good they're about to make each other feel.  He groans with anticipation as the dragon's nude body settles over his chest and between his thighs, pulling Xiumin's lips against his own for another searing kiss as the dragon rumbles and rolls his hips against Jongdae's pelvis.

"Who is seducing whom, my eager little virgin?"  Xiumin chides, but he doesn't seem to be complaining.  On the contrary, he seems downright thrilled with Jongdae's enthusiasm.

"I can hardly seduce you, can I?" Jongdae whines.  "It's not like I have any idea what I'm doing." He ruts upward against the man on top of him, seeking more friction, more _something._

"What you're doing is driving me insane," Xiumin growls, grinding back down and pulling a strangled keen from Jongdae's throat.  "This was supposed to be slow and gentle and tender, Dae—your first time should be perfect."

"Don't want perfect," Jongdae whines.  "Just want _you_."

Xiumin growls at this, sounding very dragonish indeed.  "Ah, Dae, you slay me," he says, voice low and rough as he grabs the bottle of sweet-scented oil from the shelf above the bed.  "But we need to be slow and gentle for this part, at least."

"Why?" Jongdae protests, eyes tracking the oil as Xiumin sits up and pours some over his fingers.  

"Because I don't want to hurt you," Xiumin answers.  "So I'm going to work you open with my fingers so you're all stretched and ready for me.  It'll feel a little strange at first, but try to relax, my impatient little human."

Jongdae swallows his next whine, trying not to sound as needy and desperate as he feels.  Lower lip trapped between his teeth, he watches the dragon kneeling between his legs. Xiumin lifts Jongdae's knee with one hand, folding it gently toward his chest as he reaches between the human's cheeks with the slippery hand.

"Ready?" the dragon asks, icy blue eyes searching Jongdae's face.

Jongdae nods, then flinches a little when something slick brushes against him where he's _really_ glad he scrubbed extra-well.

"Sorry," he and Xiumin both murmur, then the dragon smiles softly at him.  

"Relax, my sweet, handsome human," Xiumin reminds him, and Jongdae tries.

He tries as Xiumin praises him, rubs his puckered skin with slippery fingers, massages the ring of muscle that is much more sensitive than Jongdae ever noticed before.  He tries, cock twitching every time Xiumin murmurs a "that's it" or a "yes, Dae" and especially a nearly whispered "gorgeous." He tries, and then clenches down in surprise when a finger finally slips inside him.

"You're alright," Xiumin soothes, free hand spread reassuringly over Jongdae’s abdomen.  "You're doing so well, Dae."

Jongdae feels so warm, whether from the bath or from the dragon's pretty words he isn't sure, but regardless of the source it helps him to sigh into Xiumin's touch and relax again, allowing the finger inside him to move, gently, slowly sliding in and out and setting the sensitive area aglow.

"Feels good," Jongdae decides after a few moments.  "Weird, but good."

Xiumin smiles so warmly down at him.  "I'm glad, my brave Dae. Ready for a little more?"

Jongdae nods, and a heartbeat later, a second slippery finger is sliding into him alongside the first.  He sucks in a breath at the invasion, and the fingers freeze in place, Xiumin watching him so closely.

"If you don't like it, we can do something else," Xiumin offers, but Jongdae shakes his head.  

"I want you.  All of you," he declares, and the heated look the dragon gives him melts him, relaxes him enough for the fingers to move inside him once again.  

"You have me, Dae," Xiumin purrs as he slides his fingers in and out.  "Oh, you definitely have me."

"All of you," Jongdae whines, trying to curve upward to reach the dragon kneeling between his thighs.

"Patience, my eager Dae," Xiumin chuckles, scooting closer to lean in to grant Jongdae a kiss.  "I promised not to hurt you, didn't I?"

Jongdae still whines a little, but he mostly does his best to concentrate on the slowly-blinking icy eyes watching him, and how good the fingers moving between his legs feel.  Soon they're reaching deep inside him, and then Xiumin crooks them towards Jongdae's navel on the way out and _oh—_

Jongdae yelps and arches, curving his back up off the bed only to then rebound his spine, coiling up to dig his fingers into Xiumin's shoulders.

"The fuck did you do?" he pants, scowling at the laughing dragon.

"Oh, Dae," Xiumin chuckles.  "You're so much fun."

"Oh, Min," Jongdae frowns.  "You're such a tease."

"I am," the dragon admits, grinning entirely unrepentantly.  "But I'm not cruel. Lie back down for me, darling Dae, so I can take care of you.  I promise to behave until you have all of me, just as you desire."

"You better," Jongdae admonishes, but he releases Xiumin's shoulders to sink back against the bed.  "But what did you do to me just now? Some kind of dragon magic?"

"Not at all," Xiumin answers, sliding his fingers hypnotically in and out once again.  "Males of many species have a sensitive gland about a finger-length inside them, and for most, it produces rather... intense sensations when given some attention."

Jongdae tries to growl but his words are more like an indignant sigh.  "Intense is such an inadequate word." He tilts his chin at the dragon.  "Do _you_ have one of these glands?"

Xiumin nods with a little smile.  "Not when I'm wearing my scales. But in this form, I do."

"Good," Jongdae says, closing his eyes and grimacing a bit as the dragon adds another finger.  "I'm gonna poke yours later. Steal some of _your_ dignity for once."

Xiumin laughs.  "I look forward to it, my vengeful little human.  I look forward to all the things you wish to do to me."  He spreads his fingers apart inside Jongdae, then flicks one across the sensitive spot again, chuckling when Jongdae writhes.  "I shall be sure to give you plenty to avenge."

After a few more moments of careful internal massage, Xiumin smirks down at his panting prey.  "Are you ready for all of me, darling Dae?"

Jongdae nods, throwing in the dragon's favorite word so he'll finally get on with it.  "Please," he smirks right back.

Xiumin's eyelids flutter shut as he drizzles more oil over his fuchsia cock.  "Now who's the tease?" the dragon huffs, hooking Jongdae's bent leg over his shoulder.  "Goading me on when I need to go the slowest."

Jongdae intends to goad the dragon more, but then Xiumin's cock is pushing against his well-stretched hole and Jongdae can't even moan, just inhale in a long gasp, no longer alone in his own body.

"Relax for me, Jongdae," Xiumin coaxes.  "Push out, don't clench down."

Still panting, eyes screwed shut, Jongdae does his best to obey, trying not to panic as he feels himself stretch even more to accommodate the dragon's not-insignificant girth.  But finally, just before Jongdae is sure Xiumin's length must be about to punch right through him and out the other side, the dragon's hips come to rest against Jongdae's ass.

Xiumin sighs, low and lusty.  "Dae—oh, Dae! Oh, you're perfect.  We fit together like you were made just for me.  How do you feel, my precious jewel?"

"Hngh," is all Jongdae manages, because he's not sure how he feels, having never felt like this ever before.

Xiumin's perfectly-angled brow lifts in mild concern.  "Is that a good 'hngh' or a bad 'hngh?'"

Jongdae considers.  He's stretched wide around Xiumin's cock, and it's so novel it's almost as though his body isn't sure the sensation it's feeling is pain or not.  But Xiumin is cradling him tightly, is watching him carefully, and the dragon promised not to hurt Jongdae, so he must be feeling something else. The thought makes him relax a little, and indeed, the more he relaxes, the more sure he is that he's not hurting, that he in fact feels pretty good.

"Good hngh," he reports after his moment of self-evaluation.  "It's just very... new?"

Xiumin's concern blossoms into smug relief.  "Oh, well, of course it's new, my precious ex-virgin.  But I promise to always make it enjoyable." He leans down to kiss Jongdae, which is both an excellent distraction and something that tends to make him boneless with pleasure, so it's not long before he's moaning against the dragon's lips and lying entirely pliant in the dragon’s arms.

And then Xiumin starts to move, rolling his hips and sliding that amazing cock slowly in and out, dragging against the sensitive ring of muscle, drawing yet more lusty noises from Jongdae's throat.  He can feel Xiumin grin against his mouth, rumbling deep in his chest in response, a low, sexy sound that resonates from Xiumin's chest to Jongdae's own.

Xiumin picks up the tempo but keeps his thrusts long and languid, practically purring at the moans and grunts his movements steal from Jongdae's throat.  "Your sexy little noises are so good for a dragon's ego," he chuckles. "I love making you feel good."

Jongdae shapes his next moan into words.  "So good, Min"

Xiumin hums in smug contentment.  "Ah, I'm so glad, handsome Dae."

The human is sure he can't be anything close to handsome with his face all red and sweaty and his hair disheveled, but the dragon sounds so pleased, pleased with _him_ , pleased that Jongdae's enjoying this, and it's such an overwhelming rush of swirling warmth that he throws his head back, arching beneath the dragon.  Xiumin takes the opportunity to slide his forearms beneath the small of Jongdae's back, pinning him flush against the dragon's chest and locking his lips against the as-yet unblemished side of Jongdae's throat.

Jongdae's moans jump up in pitch and volume as Xiumin once again sucks and nibbles to paint his pleasure into the human's skin, thrusting faster and harder until his hip bones are bouncing off Jongdae's ass.  When he's satisfied with his work, Xiumin releases Jongdae's torso to push himself back up on mighty arms. He tilts his pelvis, changing the angle of his thrusts and _oh_ it's as if lightning is striking Jongdae deep inside as Xiumin's cock rubs against that special, sensitive spot.

Wails rip from Jongdae's throat and Xiumin groans at the sound.  "Dae, oh, _Dae_ , I'm gonna fill you," Xiumin pants.  "Gonna make you mine, all _mine_ , my glittering Jongdae-jewel."

He pounds into Jongdae a little harder, shifting his weight to one arm so he can wrap a hand around the human’s cock.  It's enough to send Jongdae’s fingers scrabbling against the bedding as the lightning coalesces in his pelvis to come shooting out his dick.  He screams, every additional thrust sparking stars in his gut until the dragon pushes into him impossibly deep and Xiumin's hips still as his cock throbs, pumping Jongdae full of hot satisfaction as the dragon roars above him.

Jongdae's world is only white-hot pleasure and echoing shouts for long, beautifully-intense moments, and then he's panting beneath Xiumin's solid torso, pressed into the mattress by the dragon draped on top of him.

"Min," he grunts after a moment, pushing at a well-muscled shoulder.

The dragon groans but rolls off of him with a slurred apology to lie panting on his back beside him.  Hole suddenly empty, Jongdae whimpers at the loss and whines at the fluid running out of him. He can barely move, but he doesn't want to sleep in a wet spot or wake up all crusty.

"Sorry again," Xiumin mutters, then lifts a hand.  He mutters something under his breath, wiggling his fingers, and both of them are suddenly clean, all evidence of their pleasure having vanished.

"Well, that's a handy trick," Jongdae mumbles as Xiumin rolls over and pulls him close.

"One more handy trick, my glittering gem," he says, reaching to take something from the shelf at the head of the bed.  He shows it to Jongdae, a little blue pot with a snowflake etched in white, before he hauls himself up to remove the cork from the pottery.

"I'm afraid I got carried away and was a little rough with you," Xiumin says with a sheepish smile, dipping a finger in what turns out to be some sort of salve and smoothing the ointment over Jongdae's still-tingling hole.  "Use a little more in the morning if you're still tender, okay, my precious jewel?"

Jongdae nods as Xiumin re-corks the pot and sets it back on the shelf before wrapping himself around the human once again.  He chuckles beneath the comforting weight of Xiumin's arm. "I thought dragons were supposed to sleep on piles of valuables, not curl up on top of loud, skinny boys."

Xiumin hums contentedly against Jongdae's shoulder.  "If that enthusiastic, slender boy is you, then it's the same thing," he murmurs, and somehow Jongdae is still able to blush on top of his post-pleasure glow.

#  **❄❄❄**

The next morning, Jongdae again wakes to an oversized, raspy tongue against his face followed by the kobold's shout.  He sits up to wipe the cat spit off his cheek only to suck in his breath at the twinge between his other cheeks.

"The master was a little rough with his toy, I see," Kyungsoo comments wryly, holding out the pot of salve.

"It was fun at the time," Jongdae winces as he takes the proffered pot, but the soothing ointment provides relief as soon as it's applied to tender flesh.

"Well, just remind him that if he breaks you, there will be no more 'fun' until you're healed," Kyungsoo frowns, setting the pot back on the shelf.  "And you better not end up pregnant. I am not being nanny to another litter of anything." The kobold glares at the scattered snow leopards for good measure.

Jongdae laughs, able to stride across the room to the wardrobe with only mild discomfort.  "Human boys don't get pregnant, only girls. And they don't have litters—usually it's just one baby at a time."

"Well, that's a relief," Kyungsoo states, holding out a full-length dress of thick white wool.  "Now get dressed—we have lots to do today."

Evidently the promised trip to the market (and the promised cash to spend) has inspired the kobold to take a full inventory of all of their food, kitchenware, and cleaning supplies to see what they might wish to purchase along with Jongdae's warm clothes.  He has his human assistant counting boxes and barrels and seed packets and clumps of hanging herbs all morning while Kyungsoo scurries about with scrolls of parchment and thick ledgers.

When he discovers Jongdae can read and write and do accurate sums, he leaves the human with an enchanted quill that never needs to be re-inked and doesn't drip or sputter over the provided parchment, giving him instructions to count up their consumable supplies while the kobold evaluates the state of their hard goods. It's sort of like taking inventory at the general store, except that Jongdae himself is actually going to benefit (he hopes) instead of merely helping his uncle line his pockets.

Kyungsoo lets Jongdae help him prepare lunch, and the human proves himself able to follow instructions fairly well even if he does manage to cut himself on one of the kobold's razor-sharp knives.  After more healing salve and a bandage around a finger along with quite a bit of muttering about fragile human flesh, Kyungsoo finishes cooking alone, setting Jongdae to look through a huge collection of cookbooks (mostly mutton-focused, unsurprisingly) to choose recipes he'd like to try and then carefully write down the non-mutton ingredients.  Then he compares the lists against what they already have, making a new list of the required shopping.

"And add a pair of fine chainmail gloves to the list," Kyungsoo instructs.  "The master will be displeased if you end up missing bits."

"What about chainmail pajamas?" Jongdae asks with a grin.  "Or maybe some sort of cat repellent?"

Kyungsoo had rolled his eyes at the first suggestion but pauses to tap his chin with one long claw at the second.  "Hmm, you might be on to something there," the kobold says thoughtfully. "I'll have to check the Master's library, but I bet we can figure out something non-lethal to protect my nerves and your hide."

Jongdae manages to assist with dinner preparation without needing any more salve, probably because Kyungsoo keeps him away from both the knives and the open flame.  He's directed to rip up greens and crumble soft blue cheese and mix in bright red berries and crunchy nuts, drizzle the resulting salad with oil and vinegar and sprinkle it with dried herbs while Kyungsoo boils potatoes and prepares the mutton.  Then he's allowed to mash up the potatoes with a little milk and a lot of butter while Kyungsoo turns the meat on a spit over the fire.

He's almost done when a throaty rumble sounds behind him right before muscular arms encircle his waist and a pointed chin hooks over his shoulder.

"My precious Jongdae-jewel looks so good standing in my kitchen, lovely arms and shoulders flexing to prepare me delicious food."  Xiumin presses close against Jongdae's backside, proving exactly the effect the sight has on the dragon.

"You never say that about _me_ ," Kyungsoo says from his spot by the fire.  "And it's _my_ kitchen, so get your lecherous claws off my assistant and go set the table."

Xiumin huffs out a sigh but releases Jongdae and does as he's told, making the human chuckle a bit at the relationship between the fierce little kobold and his supposed master.  But then he remembers how happy the big strong dragon was to melt beneath Jongdae's fingertips against his scalp, and now he's laughing at himself, at how terrified he was of a creature who's turned out to be a big scaly softie.

#  **❄❄❄**

When Kyungsoo and Jongdae carry the finished meal into the dining area, they find Xiumin sulking at the head of the long wooden table.  But the dragon brightens up as he's presented with the food, exclaiming over all of it, especially the salad that Jongdae had mostly prepared by himself.

He doesn't notice Jongdae's injury until they're all sat down to eat, frowning as Jongdae struggles to wield his table knife effectively despite his bandaged index finger.

"Why is my precious gem injured, Kyunggie?" he asks, angled brows furrowed in concern.

Kyungsoo sighs.  "Because human skin isn't as resistant to damage as kobold scales are," he explains, "And your pet is rather inept in the kitchen."

"It's your job to teach him well and keep him safe," Xiumin glowers, but the quivering table knife the kobold sticks into the wood by the dragon's forearm has him looking abashed.

"I know," Kyungsoo states.  "Which is why I've added protective equipment to our shopping list."  He pats a scroll sticking out of his apron's breast pocket.

Xiumin eyes the rolled-up parchment suspiciously.  "That list looks awfully long," he mumbles, resuming his meal.

"It is," the kobold confirms.  "But before you whine about the depletion of your precious hoard, please remember that we're bringing all the purchases right back to your cave.  Your wealth is just being transformed from cash into goods, so you're only really losing what we spend on ingredients, and you like eating fancy food."

The dragon's scowl dissolves completely.  "Well, that's alright then. It is very important to keep my precious jewel safe and warm and well-fed."

"I'm glad you see reason," the kobold smirks, winking conspiratorially at Jongdae.  "So you won't mind that I've doubled our budget."

When the dragon sputters, the kobold goes in for the kill.  "I'm sure you don't want your _precious jewel_ dressed in rags, now, do you?"

"Of course not," Xiumin says, giving Jongdae a soft look.  "He deserves the best, and the best he shall have. In fact, take triple what we discussed—I don't want any inferior fabric or inexpert craftsmanship to detract from his perfection."

Jongdae hides his blush by concentrating deeply on his salad.  He'd be happy with homespun as long as it's nice and warm, but he can't deny that he's a little bit thrilled to shop for high-quality clothes, and _more_ thrilled that the elegant dragon thinks Jongdae _deserves_ them.

After supper, Xiumin tries to pounce on Jongdae, but Kyungsoo again defends his right to his assistant.  But Xiumin is evidently impatient to play with his new toy again, because he readily assists Jongdae with the dishes, scrubbing pots like a common scullery maid instead of a majestic magical beast.

"Wouldn't your little spell from last night get these dishes clean like it did for us?" Jongdae asks the toiling dragon.

"It would," Xiumin pouts.  "But Kyunggie says that's cheating."

"Cleaning builds character," the kobold calls from the knife block where he's lovingly maintaining his cleavers.  "Since you're corrupting my assistant with your increasing public indecency, I consider making you scrub pots a public service."

Xiumin winks at Jongdae and scrubs faster.

#  **❄❄❄**

With such dedicated effort, it's not long before Jongdae is standing nude in the human bathing area, being circled slowly by a prowling dragon intent on inspecting him _everywhere_.  

"I really was too rough with you," the dragon sighs.  "You have _bruises_."

Jongdae shrugs.  In addition to the spectacular hickeys gracing either side of his throat, he now has symmetrical purple spots marking where the dragon's strong fingers dug into his hips.  "I kind of like them," he mumbles.

Xiumin stops his pacing to cock his head at Jongdae.  "How can you like when I hurt you, Dae? Especially when I promised not to?"

Jongdae shrugs again.  "It didn't hurt at the time, and it made me feel good to see them this morning."

"Why?" the dragon asks.  "They must be sore and tender."

"They are a little," Jongdae admits.  "But they remind me of how much you wanted me, how turned on you were.  It makes me feel..." _Like I belong to you_ , he thinks, but of course he doesn't, really.  He's a temporary toy, no matter how much the dragon seems to enjoy him.  "...Special," he eventually concludes with a little smile. It's nice to know he's able to please the gorgeous creature, even if it's just for a set span of years.

"You are special," Xiumin purrs.  "You're exquisite, and if you're sure you're alright, I'd love to show you just how much I want you."

"Please," Jongdae says with a smirk, laughing when the dragon all but tackles him into the water.

Xiumin makes sure his new favorite toy is very, very clean, and Jongdae actually manages to wash all of the dragon this time.  He lets curious soapy fingers linger over Xiumin's own puckered entrance, intrigued that the dragon seems perfectly comfortable allowing Jongdae to touch him wherever he pleases, lacking either shame or wariness.

Jongdae moves on to wash heavy testicles, again surprised that Xiumin doesn't even flinch when Jongdae handles the delicate organs.  But then he's washing Xiumin's awesome cock, massaging soapy skin to earn filthy moans.

"My jewel is becoming bolder," the dragon chuckles before pressing his mouth against Jongdae's.  "I love your spark, my handsome human."

"Good," Jongdae answers.  "Because now that I know how much fun sex is, I want you all the time."

Xiumin laughs.  "That's convenient, because I want _you_ all the time, too."

"Then take me to bed, mighty dragon," Jongdae purrs, eyes sparkling as he adds the magic word.  " _Please._ "

"I know you do that on purpose just to rile me up," said mighty dragon growls, but he scoops Jongdae out of the water and starts toweling him off.  

"It works so well," Jongdae laughs.  "And it's not like you don't have your own weapons of seduction at your disposal."

" _You_ are a weapon of seduction," Xiumin states, but they at least manage to put their robes on this time before scurrying through the halls to the bedroom, laughing at their own eagerness.

#  **❄❄❄**

The robes come off as soon as they’re in the bedroom, and then their lips and hands are all over each other.  Jongdae is intoxicated by the feel of Xiumin’s perfect body against his, easily giving up the moans and whimpers that the dragon seems to love so well.  In fact, he’s so intoxicated that he’s too aroused to be alarmed when Xiumin pushes him down onto the bed, even though it’s currently occupied by a big dozing cat.

Jongdae hums happily when Xiumin crawls over him, pressing their naked hips together and resuming their interrupted kiss.  He’s vaguely aware of the leopard gazing at the writhing pair with more disgust in its eyes than usual, and he smiles after a violent twitch and rather loud yelp—produced when Xiumin decides to nibble on Jongdae’s earlobe—finally makes the disgruntled cat abandon the hazardous bed for the serenity of the settee.

It’s just as well for everyone involved, because Xiumin seems determined to suck a trail of burgundy bruises all down Jongdae’s body, making him thrash and yell when the dragon chooses to mark a particularly-sensitive spot.  

Who knew that male nipples were useful for anything but decoration?  Xiumin, that’s who, and he exploits this knowledge with gleeful abandon, nipping and sucking at the dusky pink skin, making it flush and pebble beneath his mouth.  And Jongdae’s stomach is evidently both ticklish and delicious, making him undulate as giggles interrupt his moans.

Xiumin’s laughing, too, teasing Jongdae’s navel with the tip of his wicked tongue, then he starts flicking the slippery muscle through the narrow trail of hair that runs from Jongdae’s stomach down to places he’d never expect someone’s mouth to go.  But Xiumin seems to take a perverse pleasure in surprising Jongdae, making the human punctuate his whines with sharp, shallow breaths as the dragon’s talented lips and clever tongue get closer and closer to their implied destination.

...Only to veer off to suck a mark onto Jongdae’s inner thigh.

The frustration-tickle-pleasure-pain this act produces makes Jongdae emit a tortured scream that sounds rather like Farmer Choi’s billygoat when the lady goats are in season.

That is, if the billygoat were being strangled.

At the bottom of a well.

Xiumin’s amusement at this unearthly howl is enough to make him release the bruise between his teeth so he can guffaw properly at the poor abused human.  

Jongdae pouts as the dragon laughs himself into tears.  Xiumin’s still holding him firmly to the bed, so he can’t get away despite the mighty beast’s incapacitating mirth.  The best he can do is tug a corner of the sheepskin over his scarlet face, hiding from icy-blue eyes beneath sapphire-blue fleece.

“My precious Gem-Dae,” Xiumin coos through his chuckles, kissing gentle apologies over the purpling mark on Jongdae’s thigh.  “You are truly an unending delight.”

“It’ll end if I die of shame,” Jongdae grumbles beneath his sheepskin sanctuary.

“There’s no need for shame between us.”  The bedding shifts as Xiumin crawls up to twitch the fleece away and capture pouting lips between smirking ones.  “I love when you sing for me, in or out of tune.”

“What about you, though?” Jongdae demands.  “When are you going to make unflattering noises for me?”

“Hmm.  How about after I suck your pretty cock until you explode with pleasure?”

Much to his chagrin, Jongdae produces another unflattering noise merely from the thought.

Laughing again, Xiumin kisses his way back down Jongdae’s body, but instead of teasing, he now seems dangerously intent.  Jongdae’s breath hitches, cutting shallower and shallower until he gasps, filling his lungs with the dragon’s throaty purr as he wraps those sinful lips around Jongdae’s dick.

“Min,” Jongdae pants as Xiumin slides that wet-hot mouth over his cock, bobbing up and down, fluffy white hair half-obscuring smiling eyes.  “Oh, fuck, Min.”

He already feels his annihilation boiling up inside him, slightly annoyed even as he moans helplessly beneath Xiumin’s mouth.  He reminds himself it’s fine, he just needs practice, at least tonight he managed to experience something mind-blowing before he explodes into goo.

“You’re so—I’m gonna— _Min!_ ”

He’s not sure what he’s expecting to happen as his back arches off the bed with his impending climax, but it’s certainly not for the dragon to pin his hips firmly with strong hands, then suck Jongdae’s cock all the way into his mouth.  

Another goat is murdered while Jongdae pulses hot pleasure down the dragon’s throat.

Xiumin chuckles as he sucks and swallows, releasing his laughter along with Jongdae’s softening cock.

“My sparkling Jongdae-jewel,” he coos as he crawls back up beside him to wrap arms and legs around the gasping corpse that used to be Jongdae.

“Not sparkling,” Jongdae pants.  “Extinguished. Dead. Pretty sure you sucked all of my bones right out through my dick.”

Xiumin’s hum sounds rather pleased about that.

“If you’re dead, then sleep, my handsome human,” the dragon purrs in Jongdae’s ear.

Jongdae tries to resist, because there’s something important he’s supposed to do before he drifts away.  Something involving poking a dragon to see what kind of noises it makes. But he can’t resist, especially not when Xiumin starts stroking gentle fingers through Jongdae’s hair.

Stupid, handsome, sexy dragons.  How is a mere human supposed to compete?

#  **❄❄❄**

It takes Kyungsoo and Jongdae another two days to finish the massive inventory and re-organization of everything under the kobold’s authority, which basically means everything outside of Xiumin’s bedroom or the huge golden double doors that lock the dragon’s vast hoard away from uninvited eyes.

“He used to just leave it lying everywhere, in piles he claimed were ‘artfully arranged’ but which were actually just a bunch of shiny shit stacked on top of other shiny shit,” Kyungsoo informs Jongdae as he gapes at the towering mounds of gold that practically fill the entirety of the massive chamber.  The walls are covered with icy mirrors framed by embedded treasure, only serving to reflect and magnify the illusion of an endless hoard.

“But some of the virgins were prone to ‘accidentally’ removing things from the piles—as if a fucking _dragon_ wasn’t going to immediately notice the absence of even a single coin—so I eventually convinced him to haul it all in here and lock it away.  It’s not like a fucking hermit like the master actually needs a ‘grand ballroom’ anyway. Who is he going to entertain? The fucking cats?”

As he rants, the kobold is scooping various bits of gold into the massive canvas sack Jongdae is helpfully holding open.  Kyungsoo is in a fouler mood than usual, because Xiumin had forbidden him from spending any of his uncountable gemstones, instead insisting they only spend plain gold on their planned purchases.  The tone of the argument seemed to indicate that the kobold and the dragon had had such a “discussion” before, but Xiumin had ignored Kyungsoo’s reasoning that gold is both heavier and less valuable than the sparkling stones the dragon seems to covet most.

So they’re filling a sack large enough to dispose of a body with more wealth than Jongdae believes to exist in the entire village of Siheung.  At least the kobold is much stronger than a creature his size might seem to be. And he shouldn’t actually have to carry the weight much—they’re planning to take a massive handcart, and the dragon will be carrying them most of the way, anyway.  

Jongdae can’t help but smile as he listens to the kobold spew curses and rummage through the dragon’s treasures.  It’s hard to believe that tomorrow, he, Jongdae, the alewench’s bastard, is going to be flown through the sky by a magnificent dragon to visit a new village, and that he’ll spend that dragon’s gold to buy himself nice, warm clothing.  

He’s having the best adventure of his life, and every new day brings another surprise.  Xiumin was absolutely right. Baekhee may have a baby on the way, but she’ll never get to soar through the sky on dragon wings.  The glowy feeling this idea sparks in his chest is enough to heat his flesh even without the promised upgraded wardrobe.

#  **❄❄❄**

Jongdae is absolutely _freezing_ , but that doesn't diminish his buoyant mood as he follows Kyungsoo down the well-traveled road to Suncheon.  In addition to his customary apron, the kobold is wearing a gray hooded cloak that goes nicely with his periwinkle scales.  Jongdae has a hooded cloak, too, the one lined with ermine, but it can only do so much for him since he's insisted on wearing one of Xiumin's hose-and-tunic combos rather than a warmer dress.

And all the jewelry Xiumin insisted on draping him with, while beautiful, is only further conducting the cold from air to skin.  Still, Jongdae’s not going to complain—the dragon had bedecked him in scads of his beloved gemstones, wanting both to decorate his non-virgin and grant him a mark of trust that said non-virgin would return to him, gems and all.  There’s no fucking way Jongdae is going to whine about _that_.

It helps a little that he's pulling the handcart, the physical activity encouraging his muscles to stay loose and cooperative, even if the cart is surprisingly light for its incredibly-ample size.  Still, the wind is bitter and unforgiving, so Jongdae's smiling through chattering teeth as the walls of the village grow nearer. He chuckles softly when the kobold eyes the tall wooden palisade warily, then grabs for the handcart, shoving the human in front of him to perform his meat-shield duties.

"Do you remember what to say?" Kyungsoo asks from behind Jongdae as he herds him toward the huge open gates.  

"Yep," Jongdae nods, ready to introduce himself and the kobold formally on behalf of their honorable master, the ice dragon Xiumin, with many regards and well-wishes as he'd memorized earlier.

"Then do your thing before you freeze to death, foolish human," the kobold urges.

Said foolish human clears his throat and steps forward to address the bored-looking guards standing to either side of the great gates.  They cross their spears over the entrance as he approaches, making a lopsided X since one guard is a good deal taller than the other. They glower at him from beneath their chainmail coifs.  

Jongdae gives them his best greet-the-customer smile, honed by many years of minding the general store.  "Good morrow, gentlemen. I am Jongdae, coruscant of the ever-honorable, highly-venerable ice dragon Xiumin, accompanying the dragon's seneschal, the esteemed kobold Kyungsoo, here to discuss the fulfillment of the ongoing contract with your respected elder," he recites, using his most formal speech and finishing with a deep bow.

He holds the ninety-degree position for a moment, but stands again when he hears Kyungsoo scoff behind him.  The guards are just staring at him with bemused expressions.

"What's a cor-us-cant?" the shorter guard finally asks.

Jongdae suppresses a sigh, trying to maintain his dignified, I'm-important-take-me-seriously posture.  "It means 'glittering,'" he explains.

"Like broken glass?" the taller guard asks, failing to hide a grin.

Jongdae purses his lips.  "Like lightning, actually," he says.

"Or a finely-cut, highly-polished gemstone," Kyungsoo adds from behind him.  "Master Xiumin is a dragon. He values sparkle highly."

"So, you think we're going to escort the snow lizard's 'sparkly' and the housekeeper to bother our busy village elder?" the short guard asks, skeptical brow raised.

"If you're not smart enough to pronounce 'seneschal' then I prefer 'steward,'" Kyungsoo says.  "And yes, that's exactly what's going to happen."

"And why do you think we'll cooperate?" the tall guard asks, not even trying to disguise his amusement anymore.

Kyungsoo sighs, then turns around and marches toward a nearby fir tree.  Taking a deep breath, he exhales a billowing cone of scintillating white mist that engulfs the tree entirely, and when it dissipates, the fir is limned in a shimmering coat of ice.  Jongdae catches his breath, because it's beautiful—until Kyungsoo does an about-face, thwacking his sturdy tail against the frozen tree. The kobold stands stoically as the fir shatters into frigid toothpicks behind him.

The guards exchange a look, amusement replaced by concern.  They lower their spears into ready positions, prompting the kobold to sigh again.

"Okay, which one of you nimrods pissed off the mighty Blizzard's favored companion?" comes an irked voice from above them.  "I was going to harvest that tree for next year's Yuletide display, but now one of you idiots is going to have to traipse into the woods to find me a replacement.  Don't think I'll forget!"

Jongdae looks up to see a blonde man scowling down from the palisade catwalk at the ruins of the frosted fir tree.  His face would be quite pretty if he weren't so angry, and his pointed ears give him away as bearing elven blood.

"Captain Lu!" Kyungsoo calls up.  "I am sorry about your tree, but it was the closest inanimate target for my irritation."

"Eh, don't worry about it, Monsieur Kyungsoo.  You’ve at least taught Suho and Tao not to underestimate anyone, and hopefully also to treat all Suncheon’s guests with respect.”

“I do what I can,” the kobold smirks.

Captain Lu grins back.  “You've arrived on a fortuitous day—the first market after Yule always has good deals on winter finery.  Perhaps the Blizzard is looking for a few new trinkets for his unsurpassed hoard?"

"Perhaps," Kyungsoo agrees.  "We did bring our largest handcart—and a massive bag of Master Xiumin's gold to spend."

"Well, why didn't you say so in the first place, good gentlekobold.  Please, sir, right this way." The tall guard makes a sweeping gesture through the palisade.

Jongdae glances at Kyungsoo, who gestures at him to follow the now-obsequious guard while the kobold returns to cart-pulling duties.  

"Give Elder Wu my regards!" Captain Lu calls from the palisade as Jongdae, Kyungsoo, and the handcart are led deeper into the village.

#  **❄❄❄**

Jongdae can't help but gape as the tall guard ushers them down clean cobbled streets past tidy, well-kept houses.  This so-called "village" seems ten times the size of Jongdae's former home, which makes it at least a "town" in his mind—not that he has any other frame of reference.  They seem to be heading to the center of town, which is only to be expected if they're going to see the village elder.

The guard marches them up to a fancy two-story building on the edge of the village square, which is currently flooded with tents, tables, and stalls of all sizes and colors, occupied by a plethora of vendors displaying their wares.  Jongdae would stop and stare at the breathtaking array, but he's freezing his fucking cockles off. He hustles to follow their oh-so-charming escort, hoping he's taking them someplace warm.

Kyungsoo hauls the cart right up to the dark wooden double-doors, lifting it over the steps and onto the broad portico like it weighs nothing.  Then he hoists the enormous canvas bag of gold coins and gem-free trinkets and carries it on his shoulder with ease as the guard pulls one of the elaborately-carved doors open for them.

To Jongdae's relief, the village hall is dominated by a huge roaring fireplace, and once Jongdae repeats the fancy-sounding title Xiumin instructed him to use (which even Jongdae thinks is a bit ridiculous, not that he'd ever admit that to the beautiful dragon or to these unappreciative villagers) the guard trundles off to announce them to the village elder.  Silently cursing the cold, the frozen human hustles in a less-than-dignified manner to present his frosted bits to the warmth of the flames. He sighs in contentment as the heat soaks into him, ignoring the kobold's derisive snort from across the room.

"I told you to wear something comfortable.  If your gross human dangly bits get frostbite, it's entirely your own fault."

"My dangly bits are just fine, thank you," Jongdae snipes, even if they've basically crawled up inside him and he's a little scared he'll never see them again.  "And I'm mentally more comfortable in public wearing clothing designed for my own gender, even if Xiumin's clothes suck total balls at protecting a mammal in this climate."

"Well, that dumb lanky guard is done swapping spit with Elder Wu, so wipe the dripping snot from your face and try to look regally coruscant."

Jongdae obeys, using the hanky tucked into his cloak instead of his sleeve like the civilized human he is.

"How do you know they were kissing?" he asks as he strides back over to Kyungsoo's side, drawing himself to his full height and letting the kobold arrange the folds of his hood to fall elegantly down his back.

"I have excellent hearing," Kyungsoo says, twirling his narrow pointed ears for emphasis.

Jongdae cringes.  "In that case, I'm sorry for—"

"Earplugs are on the shopping list," the kobold states.  "I’m happy the master is happy, but your loud mating noises have interfered with my beauty sleep for the last time."

"Sorry," Jongdae says again, just as the door at the side of the hall is pushed open to admit the tall guard and an even taller man wearing fine red robes and a thin golden circlet with a single ruby over his brow.

"Monsieur Kyungsoo!" the well-dressed man says, one thick brow arched.  "I did not expect you until spring at the earliest. And who is this 'coruscant?'  Has the mighty Blizzard taken a mate?"

"That is what we're here to discuss, Elder Wu," Kyungsoo says, bowing and elbowing Jongdae to do the same.  "Unfortunately, there has been an unusual interpretation of the terms by the third party, so remonstrations must be discussed."

"I see," Elder Wu frowns, but he bows in turn and gestures for the two visitors to precede him through the side door into what turns out to be a well-appointed study.  "Please, have a seat."

With a smirk, Kyungsoo pulls out the red velvet-upholstered chair closest to the cheerily-burning fireplace for Jongdae, who sits with a grateful nod, wrapping his cloak snugly around himself.  Elder Wu takes his seat after the kobold has set his clinking bag on the floor beside Jongdae and claimed the chair opposite the huge dark wooden desk.

"Now, what's this about alteration of terms?" the stern-faced elder asks, steepling his fingers on the desk.

"Not alteration—interpretation," the kobold corrects.  "The virgin-donor village has presented us this year with a male."

Elder Wu's eyes flick to Jongdae, looking him up and down like a horse at the market.  "I see," he says, sounding anything but pleased. "Is that not against their terms?"

"It isn't," Kyungsoo states.  "The boy was a virgin, and of marriageable age."

"Was?" the elder questions.

"Was," Kyungsoo confirms.  "Master Xiumin knew you'd have little use for a male, given Suncheon's current gender ratio, and he took a fancy to the boy.  He has claimed him for his own usage, and sent me to negotiate an acceptable alternative."

"Can we not have a different virgin from the donor village?" Elder Wu asks.  "A female one? You know we have great need of wives."

"Unfortunately, they sent us a male because they have no female virgins over the age of fifteen," the kobold says.  "Besides wives, are their any other personnel vacancies we might assist with? We can provide training for a youth, just as we would for a virgin who declined to marry.  Perhaps one of your inns could use a highly-skilled chef? Or possibly a bard?"

Elder Wu stares at them stonily for a long moment.  Then an eyebrow twitches, and he sits back in his cushy seat.  "We do have something of a... stray. He was a dancer in a traveling troupe, but he injured an ankle quite badly during a rehearsal and was left behind when our healer told the dancemaster it was unlikely to heal well.  The innkeep's girl took a shine to him and begged her father to see to the boy's recovery, but while he can walk, it’s clear he'll never be good for heavy labor."

"I see.  Well, teaching him to cook will give him a marketable skill, if he's reasonably intelligent and willing to learn."

"I know next to nothing about the boy, except that he's a good-looking kid, hence the daughter's infatuation.  I assume you're not hauling that bag of cash around for exercise?"

Kyungsoo offers a small smile.  "Master Xiumin's coruscant is in need of clothing befitting his gender and station," he admits.  "And I have my eye on a thing or two, as well."

"Then I'll send for the boy, see if he's amenable while you enjoy our marketplace.  If he's not, I'm afraid we'll have to charge fair market value for any mutton the mighty Blizzard cares to indulge in."

The kobold nods, standing up.  "Seems fair. And we'll also send an emissary to the donor village, encouraging a more favorable candidate next time."

"Please see that you do."  Elder Wu stands as well. "Our long-held arrangement with the mighty Blizzard has been quite satisfactory in the past, so I do hope this is a mere anomaly in otherwise-impeccable dealings."

"As do we."  Kyungsoo bows before shouldering the heavy canvas bag once again.  "If you would, precious coruscant?" he nods to the door.

Jongdae manages not to roll his eyes.  Precious, his ass. Well, okay, the dragon probably _does_ admire his ass, but this whole 'sparkly' business is really a bit much.

#  **❄❄❄**

The commercial commotion in the village square is much more organized than it seemed on first impression.  Kyungsoo also seems to know where all the vendors are located, directing Jongdae down a colorful row of tents and hauling the cart after him.  They stop at a grand tent with a striped awning sheltering elegantly-dressed mannequins, and Jongdae looks longingly at the sheepskin pants and colorful wool shirts the wooden displays are wearing.

"Kyungsoo!" greets a tall, broad-shouldered man with an intimidatingly-handsome face.  He also has pointed ears peeking through his tousled, rainbow-colored hair, making Jongdae marvel at how diverse this village is compared to his own.

"Sehunnie," the kobold greets.  "I'm about to make you a very busy man."

The lovely man laughs, transforming his features from elegant to adorable.  "I'm already a busy man, Kyungsoo, but I always have time for my wealthiest client.  Does our handsome dragon require some new finery?"

"Not quite," Kyungsoo smiles.  "Today you get the privilege of bedecking Master Xiumin's new companion."  He gestures to Jongdae, who steps forward. "Tell Sehun what you're looking for while he measures you," the kobold instructs.  "I'm heading toward the culinary section, so when you're done here, feel free to peruse the rest of the clothing area for anything else you fancy."

With that, the kobold hauls the cart away, leaving Jongdae alone with the slightly-smiling elf.

"Uh, I'm Jongdae," he offers with a bow.  "And I mostly just want to avoid freezing my ass off in Xiumin's icy paradise."

Sehun laughs, gesturing for him to enter the tent and step behind a screen.  "Well, this time of year all my clothing is toasty warm, plus I can stitch in an elements-enduring spell or two for my best customer's new... friend?"

Jongdae grins at the elf's irreverent use of casual speech and at the just-as-casual inquiry into the nature of his relationship with the dragon.  He had been ashamed of how uncomfortable the thought of being known as the ice dragon’s plaything had made him feel, but no one in Suncheon has batted an eye so far, as if one male being attracted to another was a totally unremarkable situation.  

Though in a city where the male village elder steals kisses from a male city guard in the middle of the workday, perhaps Jongdae shouldn’t be so surprised.  If he’d grown up here instead of in a boring backwater village, he might have figured out his dick’s preferences sooner, and then instead of awkwardly trying to fuck his best friend, Jongdae could have joined her in ogling the blacksmith’s son who likes to work the forge with his shirt off, sweat dripping down the muscles built by hammering iron all day.

But then he’d never have met the gorgeous ice dragon who’s hotter than any blacksmith’s forge (or blacksmith’s son).  And he’s proud of shedding his virginity with such a sexy, evidently well-regarded guy, proud to be the one to make him moan and purr, even if it’s just for a little while.

So he looks the elf shamelessly in the eye.  "More like temporary concubine, I guess," he declares.  "So I'm supposed to ask that you try to make me look sexy while keeping me warm, though warmth is my personal priority."

Sehun grins, whipping out a flexible measuring tape and running it over various parts of Jongdae's body.  "It's not going to be hard to make a handsome guy like you look sexy," the elf says. "I might even have to restrain myself, because otherwise my toasty clothes are just going to end up all over the dragon's floor."

Jongdae laughs, obligingly bending and straightening limbs at the elf's request.  Somehow, he's entirely at ease in Sehun's presence, despite the fact that his hand is currently brushing against Jongdae's junk as he measures along his inseam.

"Hmm, looks like you're quite chilly, indeed," Sehun teases.  "Let's get you into something warmer right away, before your assets depreciate further."

"I do prefer my assets to be appreciated," Jongdae agrees, almost moaning at the softness of the supple fleece-lined sheepskin pants he's handed.  

"Just pull the privacy screen around you and put these on, to start with.  Then we'll find you some shirts, and when you're feeling more... yourself, I'll measure you properly for some closer-fitting trousers."

"Thanks for giving me the chance to prove myself," Jongdae chuckles, stepping behind the waist-high curtain to shed his hose and replace them with the fleecy pants.  He does actually moan as he pulls them on, bringing a smile to the elf's beautiful face.

"If you like those, you should see Luna after this.  Her tent is the purple one about three vendors to the left.  She knits the softest, warmest socks, and she does lovely cabled jumpers and even undergarments, too."

"Thanks for the tip," Jongdae smiles, gratefully replacing his sleeveless tunic with the long-sleeved soft woolen shirt Sehun hands him.  It's a lovely cobalt blue that goes nicely with the buttery tan of the leather pants. "Is there anywhere else you recommend I visit?"

Sehun strokes his perfectly-pointed chin with long fingers.  "Well, Luna and I can keep you warm, but you're a dragon's paramour, so you could check out Twice as Nice cosmetics.  Tzuyu and her tiny friends can show you how to paint yourself up so you literally sparkle, like one of the Blizzard's coveted gems."

Jongdae manages not to roll his eyes.  Kyungsoo hadn't introduced Jongdae with his ridiculous title, so Sehun probably isn't having him on.  And while he’s not sure he has any interest in a bunch of cosmetics, he had sort of liked how his lined eyes had looked when Baekhee had made him up to be devoured.  He wouldn't mind learning to do something similar, especially if it would help him melt his icy draconic lover.

"And... well,” the elf continues with a naughty little smirk, “I've heard rumors that dragons can be... enthusiastic in their bedplay.  Not that you need any help keeping his attention, with an ass like that and cheekbones sharp as diamonds, but if you feel a little adventurous, you could stop by Ravi’s booth.  They make him hide at the very back of the market, next to the latrines. But don't let that dissuade you—humans have silly ideas about the _proper_ way to comport oneself in the bedroom, but if you're not a slave to convention, Ravi can help you have some... enhanced fun."

Jongdae feels like he should be more alarmed given the words coming out of Sehun's mouth, but they're delivered with such an adorable little eye-smile that he can't truly believe the elf is setting him up for anything untoward.  And as a very recent abandoner of his virginity, he's open to anything that might help him keep up with the sexual powerhouse that is his current bedpartner.

"I'll certainly look into both of those options," he says, making a little noise of appreciation when Sehun hands him a lovely forest green shirt made of some sort of shimmery fabric.

"I think you'll be pleased with the results," Sehun smirks.  "Try that one on next—it's silk, which is warmer than one might expect.  And if you like it, I can add some embroidery to it that'll help it keep you at an ideal body temperature, no matter how cold the cave—or how hot the dragon."

Jongdae's eyebrows lift in amazement.  Spending a sackful of the hot dragon's hoard seems like it's going to be very profitable, indeed.

#  **❄❄❄**

When Jongdae and Kyungsoo eventually return to the village hall with their cart overflowing and their sack of gold nearly empty, a tall, graceful lad with an adorably-handsome face is waiting for them, accompanied by several steamer trunks and a sobbing girl.  Elder Wu is standing off to the side, looking extremely uncomfortable with the dramatic emotional display. The graceful boy is awkwardly patting the girl's shoulder, using the comforting gesture as a means to gently keep her from clinging to him.

"But Kai-bear, if you leave me, we won't be Kai-rystal anymore!" the girl is wailing.

"But you're more than enough, just being Krystal by yourself," the boy soothes.  "Besides, maybe they'll let me visit."

"We certainly will," Kyungsoo nods.  "This is meant to be an opportunity, a gift—not a punishment."

"There, see?  Nothing to fret about," the boy says, clasping both her wrists in an effort to keep her from throwing her arms around his neck.

"If it's agreeable to you and the lad, Elder Wu, I propose that he stay with us during the week, but Master Xiumin could deliver him on Friday mornings to the usual mutton clearing, and fetch him again Monday morning.  That way, he can both visit those he cares about, and work at the inn to help with the cooking on the busiest days. You'll be able to see his progress, and the inn will become more profitable as his skills improve and word gets out.  The extra income should eventually more than offset the tithe of mutton."

Elder Wu strokes his chin, then nods.  "But if the boy fails to make acceptable progress or the inn fails to see additional interest due to his skills, we reserve the right to re-negotiate."

Kyungsoo eyes the man.  "Of course, since I know you to be honest and honorable, and I have every confidence your expectations will be reasonable," he says deliberately, flawlessly-formal speech doing nothing to pad the unspoken "or else."

"Of course, of course!" the elder bobs his head.  "We just expect something fancier out of him than cheese toasties."

Kyungsoo draws himself to his full height, ears standing straight up to add to the illusion of size.  "Oh, he'll definitely have an extensive repertoire," the kobold states. "But he'll also be able to make fucking _amazing_ cheese toasties."

Elder Wu eyes the puffed-up reptilian imperiously, then breaks into a chuckle.  "Well, then, I look forward to literally eating my words."

Kyungsoo offers a ready smile.  "So do I," he says. "They're sure to be delicious, if I have anything to say about it."

The kobold shifts his attention to the future chef in question, who's still trying to save himself from sobbing-octopus-girl.  "Oh, for pity's sake," he huffs as the graceful lad stretches on tiptoe, favoring his left leg, to desperately scan the crowd.

His brows jump up in hope.  "Amber!" the youth shouts, repeating the name twice before a young man—no, a slim lass in a lad's outfit—jogs over.  "Help," the graceful boy begs.

"Krystal, sweetie, get ahold of yourself," Amber admonishes.  "I don't know what you're crying about, but seeing as Jonginnie's alive and whole, I'm sure it's not nearly as bad as you're acting like it is."

"But he's _leaving_ me," Krystal protests.

"So?" Amber retorts, taking the crying girl's wrists from the lad's hands and tugging her away.  "I'm still here, and I'm not going anywhere. Those llamas aren't going to raise themselves, are they?"

"But—" Krystal starts, but Amber puts a finger to the other girl's lips.

"Are you going to say you love him more than me?  After everything we've been through together?" She makes an exaggerated pouty face.

Krystal opens her mouth, then closes it again.  "Of course not," she says. "I'll always love you best."

"There now," Amber says with a smile, wrapping an arm around Krystal's shoulders.  "Come back to the croft with me and help me feed the demanding beasts. You can tell me all about it, and I'll tell you how silly you are, and then we'll have some ale."

"And fried potatoes," Krystal adds, letting Amber lead her away.

"Thank goodness for that bit of bubbly benevolence," Elder Wu sighs.  "Now then, Jongin, let's add your trunks to the cart so you can be off before any of the rest of your flock of adoring birds discovers you're about to fly the coop."

Blushing, Jongin nods sheepishly.  "I don't know why they're like that," he says, voice soft and a little shy.  "You know I don't encourage them."

"Your face is encouragement enough," Elder Wu says, hefting the first of the trunks into the cart.

Jongdae is sure it's going to topple right off the pile of goods, but it somehow perches securely.  So does the second one Kyungsoo chucks in, and the third, a smaller case that Jongin himself sets cautiously on top of the clucking crate of hens.  Kyungsoo just answers Jongdae's expression of wonderment with a wink.

"I hate coming down here," the kobold says.  "So I made sure we owned a cart that ensured I'd never have to make more than one trip."

"Nice," Jongdae says.  "But won't we have to come back to pick up the custom goods?"  Sehun had set him up nicely for the short term, but it will take him a few days to alter and embroider the rest of Jongdae's clothing, and Kyungsoo had ordered more kitchen stock than the vendors had readily available.

"Nope," Kyungsoo declares with a grin.  "We'll just have my new kitchen boy bring it with him when he comes back."

"You're brilliant," Jongdae informs the kobold as the canine reptilian grabs the handles of the cart and starts toward the village gates.

"I know," Kyungsoo preens.  "But you can still tell me whenever you like."

#  **❄❄❄**

They don't even make it past the village square before Kyungsoo frowns and abandons the cart to watch Jongin limp to catch up with the kobold's brisk pace.  Jongdae's doing much better than he was this morning, cozy in sheepskin pants, wool socks, leather boots, and a beautiful creamy cabled jumper that both shows off his tapered figure and keeps him blessedly warm, but their new companion, despite his seasonally-appropriate attire, is clearly struggling.

"Are you in pain?" Kyungsoo asks, crouching to poke at Jongin's ankle with the blunt back of a claw.

"Only when it's really cold, or when I use the leg too much.  But it still feels, I dunno, unstable or something when I put weight on it," Jongin answers with a blush.

"Hmm," the kobold ruminates.  "Wait here, fragile humans," he commands, then scampers off into the market again.

Jongin looks on the edge of tears, so Jongdae attempts to comfort the boy with a smile.  "He calls all of us that because we don't have tough scales to protect us from injuries like he does," he assures Jongin.  "Kyungsoo's a gruff sort of guy, and he doesn't tolerate nonsense, but he's not mean unless harassed."

Then he leans toward Jongin with a conspiratorial grin.  "If he's ever yelling at you for something, just compliment him.  It's his secret weakness."

Jongin offers a watery smile.  "I'll remember that. But I'll also try not to get yelled at in the first place—kobolds get really loud and yippy when they're upset."

Jongdae gapes at him.  "You've met kobolds before?"

Jongin nods.  "The troupe I was in performed in all sorts of places, for all sorts of people.  But I've mostly seen red kobolds, in the mountains to the south. I've never seen a purplish one before."

"I got the impression they aren't usually that color," Jongdae says wryly.  "He doesn't seem to think it's a desirable thing to be."

"That's too bad," Jongin frowns.  "I really like it."

"Me, too," Jongdae smiles as the kobold in question comes trotting back up to them with yet another bundle to add to the cart.

"Jongdae, help my new kitchen boy up onto the cart," Kyungsoo instructs.  "Then help me pull so we can get to the mutton clearing faster."

"Yes, Seneschal," Jongdae acknowledges, hastening to obey.

This time, they make it to the village gate before they’re again compelled to bring the cart to a halt.  The same two guards from this afternoon are blocking the gate, but this time they’re standing rather sheepishly before an expectant-looking Captain Lu.

“Uh, we’re sorry for giving you a hard time this morning,” the taller one starts.  “The village of Suncheon is an open, welcoming sort of place, and we promise to do a better job of representing that in the future.”  He smiles and nods when he finishes his carefully-recited speech.

“I made you a cake,” the shorter one says, holding out a round frosted thing that may or may not be intended to represent a smiling face.  “It’s not poisoned or anything, I swear!” he adds hastily, in response to Kyungsoo’s suspicious stare.

The kobold’s eyes cut to Captain Lu, who rolls his in response.  “It’s safe enough,” the elf affirms. “It might even taste better than it looks.”

Kyungsoo steps forward to accept the cake, trading bows with the guards as he does.  “Thanks, I guess.”

The two look ridiculously elated that the kobold accepted their peace offering, and they grin at him before turning puppyish eyes to Captain Lu.

“Good enough,” the captain nods.  “You’re dismissed.”

The two guards bolt, calling more apologies and at least one “please don’t freeze our dicks off” over their shoulders as they flee in the direction of the tavern.

Kyungsoo snorts.  “So, being captain of the guard includes schoolmaster duties now?”

Captain Lu sighs.  “I swear, human youths these days.  Give ‘em a little power, turn your back for _one_ second, they’re lording it over people.”

The kobold grins.  “Still, nobody tried to shoot me this time, so I’ll consider those two cloacas a slight credit to your leadership.”

“Oh, thank you, gracious and merciful Seneschal of the mighty Blizzard,” Captain Lu gushes with a mockingly-exaggerated bow.  “May your scales be always strong and shiny!”

Kyungsoo laughs, mimicking the playful display.  “May your ears be pointy and your hearing sharp, old friend!” he responds, handing the questionable cake up to Jongin to hold before helping Jongdae pull the cart into motion once again.

“Could you really freeze their dicks off?” Jongin asks as they finally trundle out of town.

Jongdae chuckles.  “Well, he froze an entire tree this morning, so, probably.”  He turns curious eyes to the kobold. “Why don’t you do that to the leopards?”

“Leopards?” Jongin questions, but the kobold only shrugs.

“You know the master wouldn’t like that.  And the freezing breath is a bit of a trick, anyway.  I can’t do that _all_ the time.”

“What kind of trick?” Jongdae asks.  It was really impressive—maybe it’s something he could learn.

“The kind of trick that involves an ice dragon with a head cold, an enchanted bottle in which to catch dripping dragon snot while dodging icicle-laden sneezes, and the toxin-storing pouch I have under my tongue,” Kyungsoo answers.

“Eew!” both humans shout in unison, making the kobold’s yipping laughter ring out across the winter wind.

#  **❄❄❄**

The mutton clearing—so named because it’s where the dragon collects his periodic tithes—was chosen as a staging area due to being as close as possible to the village without causing a dragon-inspired panic among people or sheep.  When the trio arrives with the cart, Xiumin is waiting for them, pearly white scales shimmering in the sun.

"What took you so long?" he demands.  "And how do you have so much _stuff?_ "

"Your coruscant is a thorough shopper, as is your seneschal," Kyungsoo dismisses.  "Some of this stuff belongs to my new kitchen boy, although we also have custom goods yet to be picked up."

Xiumin gapes at the kobold, then remembers his manners, performing a graceful bow with a wing and a forelimb.  "Delighted to meet you, new kitchen boy. Oh! Did you bring me a cake?"

"The honor is mine, mighty Blizzard," the kitchen boy in question answers with an equally-graceful bow, despite the fact that he's currently perched on top of an over-laden cart.  “But the cake is Kyungsoo’s, and my name is Jongin.”

"And so I shall call you," Xiumin says.  "As will Jongdae. But our Kyungsoo will call you 'new kitchen boy' until you earn the title 'kitchen boy.'  If he ever calls you by your name, you'll know he's decided not to use you as an exotic ingredient," he chuckles.

Jongin's naturally golden complexion takes on a wan appearance, but Jongdae catches his gaze before rolling his eyes.  

When the dragon's done laughing at his own attempt at humor, he continues.  "You may call me Master Xiumin, and I'm sure Kyungsoo and Jongdae will instruct you as to how they prefer to be addressed."

"Just Jongdae is fine," Jongdae says to his fellow human.  "I'm not a pompous dragon or a terrifying knife-wielding kobold, so no need for formalities between us."

"I'm not pompous," Xiumin protests, drawing his neck back into a perfect 'S' and glaring down at them imperiously.

Jongdae raises his eyebrows at the dragon.  "If you say so, oh great and mighty Blizzard."

Xiumin looks a little sheepish.  "I _am_ great and mighty, though," he asserts.  "Now quit mocking me and help Jongin down off that wagon so I can take the two of you home without squishing you against your plethora of purchases."

Jongdae obeys, feeling very much the footman today, albeit a well-dressed, toasty-warm footman, so he doesn't suppose he really minds.  Jongin hands the cake off to Kyungsoo, who dips a tentative claw into the peach-colored icing, brow ridges lifting as he licks his digit clean.

“Not poisoned,” he declares.  “Also not terrible. But here—we don’t want our taxi fainting from the weight of all of this _stuff_.”  

Kyungsoo suddenly chucks the cake over Xiumin’s head, who puffs shimmering mist from his nostrils, frosting the cake with a layer of rime before catching it in his enormous mouth.

“Not terrible,” the dragon agrees.  “But your cake is better.”

“Of course it is,” Kyungsoo agrees.  “And if you keep your infernal pets from eating my new batch of hens, we’ll have eggs and I can actually make you cake.”

“I’m sure they were just trying to cuddle,” Xiumin defends.  “You keep the coop heated, and you know how they like to curl up on warm things.”

As Xiumin and his seneschal continue to bicker, Jongdae beckons for Jongin to follow him onto the cargo net spread open over the snowy grass.  He can see the new kitchen boy trembling slightly as they approach the dragon, so he smiles at him reassuringly as they sit facing each other in the center.  

"The first time I was this close to him, I was wearing a dress and sure I was about to be eaten," he murmurs.

Jongin barks an incredible laugh.  "Well, I'm not wearing a dress, but I'm not so sure I can deny the other thing."

"He's a marshmallow," Jongdae says, settling into the net across from Jongin.  "Aren't you, Xiumin?" he calls into a break in the reptilian banter.

"No," the dragon states, shifting his weight to his hind limbs so he can gather the edges of the net in his massive claws.  "I told you: Great and mighty."

To prove his point, he uses his muscular haunches to leap into the air, iridescent wings snapping open and sweeping downward to lift them up over the trees toward the snowy mountain peak where the great and mighty dragon makes his home.

Jongin gasps and Jongdae laughs as the wind sweeps by.  It's much more fun to ride dangling beneath the dragon's great and mighty wings when he's properly dressed instead of huddling miserably in his cloak.  And it's even more fun to watch Jongin's eyes go wide and childlike with delight as the landscape falls away beneath them.

All too soon, they're being gently lowered to the snowy landing outside the icy cave, and Jongdae helps the injured man untangle himself so dragon and net can return to fetch Kyungsoo and the cart.

"Definitely great and mighty," Jongin states as Jongdae turns to watch the dragon take off again.

"At least _someone_ appreciates my magnificence!" Xiumin roars down at them, circling once before banking away down the mountain.

Shaking his head fondly at the unhumble beast, Jongdae escorts Jongin through the glittering caves, pointing out areas of interest as they make their way toward the living quarters.  

"Kyungsoo said you'd be bunking with him," Jongdae explains.  "But I've never been in his domain, so I'll just point out the door to his quarters and let him show you the rest.  The bathing area's down this way, and there's a library and a music room. But if you have free time and you're bored, you should just come find me.  There are lots of interesting-looking games and puzzles and things in Xiumin's room, and he's not generally around during the day."

"He won't have any free time until he earns it," Kyungsoo declares, marching up behind them with one of Jongin's trunks on each shoulder.  "Your room is this way—it's just behind the kitchen, so the warmth of the cook fire will keep your delicate human flesh from freezing solid at night."

"Um, thanks?" Jongin responds, giving Jongdae a concerned look that he answers with a reassuring wave as Kyungsoo leads his new kitchen boy away.

"The great and mighty Xiumin wants his coruscant to show him everything you've added to his hoard," the kobold calls over his shoulder.  "He's probably managed to tug the cart to the master bedroom by now."

"Okay," Jongdae calls back, then hurries off to entertain his dragon.

#  **❄❄❄**

Xiumin is indeed waiting impatiently in front of the bedroom, poking at the contents of the cart with nose and claw.

"My hoard seems to have become rather soft," the dragon observes as Jongdae saunters up beside him.

 _Just like its owner,_ Jongdae thinks, but he just grins up at Xiumin impishly.  "I'll have you know that an elf with rainbow hair personally curated all the soft things," he lectures.  "He’s using fancy elf magic to make some of the lighter-weight clothing still warm enough for me, so you’ll soon be able to ogle me freely.”

“Good,” Xiumin declares, tilting his scaly head.  “I like ogling you.”

“I noticed.”  Jongdae starts unpacking the cart, holding up each elf-recommended item for the dragon’s approval before taking them into the bedroom to be neatly stored in Xiumin’s wardrobe.

Xiumin makes adorable little coos and hums over the clothing, his opinions generally positive.  He predictably enjoys the outfits that will cling to Jongdae’s figure, even going so far as to declare he’ll have Jongin commission Luna to knit Jongdae more sweaters when he picks up the rest of the garments from Sehun.

“You just look so squeezable, and you feel so soft!” Xiumin can’t seem to stop rubbing his sleek face against Jongdae’s creamy jumper.

Jongdae smiles even as he’s rolling his eyes at the huge reptile he adores.  Then he yelps when a warm, wet tongue slithers against his neck, pushing Xiumin’s laughing face away.

“I refuse to get frisky with you unless you’re human-shaped,” Jongdae admonishes.  

Xiumin draws his elegant head back in affront.  “You racist,” he accuses with a playful glint in his eye.

“No, I’m a realist,” Jongdae defends.  “What exactly do you plan to do if you get me all hot and bothered?  Leave me hanging for hours until you have lips and a cock for me to do something with?”

“I have lips and a cock now.”  The dragon’s brow ridges bounce suggestively.

“Not that I can handle.”  Jongdae crosses his arms over his wool-covered chest.  “I’m happy to cuddle and pet your pretty scales, but there’s no sense in starting something we can’t finish.”  

“I could always use my tongue to—”

“ _No!_ ” Jongdae turns his back on the mischievous beast, carrying another armload of dragon-approved clothing into the bedroom, chased by draconic laughter.

When he returns to the cart, the dragon is snuffling at the remaining objects, nostrils flaring as he investigates, occasionally prodding at something with a wickedly-curved talon.

"What's this?" Xiumin asks, nudging at a wide but slender leather-bound book.  

Jongdae picks it up in his more-dexterous human digits, displaying a cover painted in carnival colors with the title done in gold leaf: _Magical Circus_.

"Uh, it's a scorebook," Jongdae says sheepishly.  "I'm doing my best to learn all your favorite songs, but I thought if the instruments could help me learn some brand new ones, it'd keep you from getting bored with me."

Xiumin's eyes curve in fond amusement.  "My precious jewel, I could never be bored with you.  But I won't deny I'm excited to hear you serenade me with your new songs when they're ready.  I love listening to you sing, and knowing you're going out of your way to please me makes me very glad indeed that some idiots tied you to my pillar."

Jongdae can only mumble a vaguely-agreeable reply, cheeks flushed a profound pink.  He ducks inside Xiumin’s bedroom to find a place on one of the tidy shelves for the book until he next visits the enchanted instruments.

“What else did you get that’s magic?” Xiumin asks when Jongdae’s managed to get ahold of himself and return to the dragon’s side.

“Kyungsoo got some stuff at the apothecary.  And maybe some of his kitchen goods—”

“No, no.  I can smell all of Kyunggie’s boring enchantments, of course, but there’s something else in here.  Something small. The magic smells like… motion?”

Jongdae swallows.  “Uh. I might have gotten… a toy?”

The dragon’s eyes go big.  “Oh, did Kyunggie take you to that one gnomish toymaker?  He has the most clever little trinkets, the virgins usually loved getting them for courting gifts.”

Jongdae has to suppress the thought of some poor virgin being given _this_ toy as a courting gift.  “Uh, not… exactly?”

That sleek shimmering head tilts at Jongdae, eyes narrowed.  “What exactly did you add to my hoard, Jongdae-jewel?”

Jongdae swallows again.  Where the fuck is one of those refilling goblets when he needs it?

“Um, I will definitely show you, but later.  I have it on good authority that you’ll like it.  Or maybe I will. One of us will definitely like it.  Maybe both?”

Jongdae knows he’s babbling but his tongue is left entirely unattended while he digs for the small wooden box he’d gotten from the tent at the back of the market.  Before the dragon can ask anything else, he whisks it away, tucking it behind an ornamental vase occupying the corner of a shelf.

“I also got some new—ack!”

Turning away from the shelf, Jongdae runs smack into a muscular human chest—a very bare, very attractive one at that.  

“Days are short in the winter, darling Dae,” Xiumin purrs, wrapping Jongdae up in a firm embrace.  “It’s a dangerous thing to spark a dragon’s hunger, and then fail to sate it.”

“Then put some clothes on, you lech, because dinner’s ready,” the kobold calls from the doorway, a blushing Jongin covering his eyes in the hall behind him.  “You know the rules—no nudity at my table!”

Jongdae thinks it unwise to point out that he’s never seen the kobold wear anything except an apron and a chef’s hat or a cloak, because Kyungsoo digs the huge parcel marked with the apothecary’s seal out of the cart before he strides away.  Jongdae really doesn’t want to find out if there are any poisons in there.

#  **❄❄❄**

Xiumin seats Jongdae at the foot of the long dining table like always before assuming his position at the opposite end.  Jongdae smiles at Jongin, who’s been seated to his left, parallel but several empty seats away from Kyungsoo, who’s in his usual place at Xiumin’s right.

“Nice to have a fellow fragile human around,” Jongdae says.  “This end of the table was rather lonely before.”

Jongin smiles back, sweet and a little shy.  “I wasn’t sure about agreeing to live in a cave with two fearsome beasts, but Elder Wu said lots of virgins had done it before and survived.  Still, I was grateful to learn I’d have company.”

“I’m glad you two are getting along,” Kyungsoo comments around his mouthful of mutton jokbal.  “Because you’ll be seeing quite a lot of each other. My new kitchen boy is forbidden to put his full weight on his injured leg until it heals, so my assistant will be helping with all of the manual labor in addition to learning to cook.  And since my assistant is literate and my new kitchen boy isn’t, guess who gets to teach him how to read and write?”

The new kitchen boy looks rather embarrassed about his lack of knowledge, but Jongdae shrugs the awkwardness away with a smile.  “I’m sure you’ll pick it up quickly. Then you can sit and read to me while I slave away for our merciless kobold overlord.”

Jongin laughs, a lovely, joyful sound that lights up his whole face.  Jongdae can’t help but coo at the adorable boy. He certainly understands why Suncheon’s youth are easily fascinated by this handsome dancer.

He’s startled out of his admiration when Xiumin sets his goblet down with a bang.  “Kyunggie,” the dragon whines. “I can’t appreciate how soft my coruscant’s new sweater is when he’s all the way over there.”

Kyungsoo looks at his master like he’s lost his mind.  “You don’t need to grope your toy while we’re eating,” he dismisses.

“I won’t grope him.”  Xiumin turns the full force of his big blue eyes on the kobold.  “I just want to _look_ at him.  From up close.  And maybe pet him a little bit.”  He flicks his frustrated gaze to Jongdae.  “Why is he so far away?”

The translucent membranes flick once, twice over Kyungsoo’s darkly-judgemental eyes, then he snorts.  “Fine. We’ll swap seats.” He piles his cutlery on his plate, then stands up with it, grabbing his goblet.  “Jongdae, the strong and mighty dragon evidently can’t bear to have his coruscant outside of arm’s reach—because he’s a big, needy baby, apparently.”

“Shut up,” Xiumin grumbles as kobold and coruscant switch places.  “I just don’t see why my precious jewel needs to sit at the foot of the table, like some sort of _servant_.”  The last word twists his face as he spits it out.

Having just lowered himself into Jongdae’s vacated chair, Kyungsoo gives the dragon a dead-eyed glare.  Jongdae holds his breath, expecting a knife to find its way once again into the much-scarred wood on their end of the table, but eventually the kobold merely shrugs.

“It’s not like it’s marked,” he says.  “This end could easily be the head of the table.  In fact, it probably is, since a rude peasant is seated at the other end.”

Jongin giggles into his rice, and Jongdae has to stifle a relieved chuckle of his own.  Kyungsoo resumes his meal, seemingly unconcerned as Xiumin pouts, brow furrowed in betrayal.

Then the dragon sighs.  “If I don’t apologize for my careless words, what are the chances my next meal is unsafe for consumption?”

Kyungsoo shrugs.  “The apothecary had a deal on laxatives,” he says ever-so-casually.  “And when we were preparing the velvet beans for tomorrow’s stew, my new kitchen boy was amazed I was shelling them without gloves.”  

The kobold smiles across the table at the concerned-looking dragon.  “Apparently, the fuzzy seed pods are unpleasant to handle without the protection of scales.  He was telling me that the boys in the dance troupe would prank each other by rubbing them inside someone’s tights to cause severe itching in sensitive places.”

Xiumin’s frown intensifies.  He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and when his lids flick up to reveal those icy cat-like eyes once again, his face is painted in sincerity.

“My dear, capable, most-appreciated Kyunggie.  I strongly regret losing control of my tongue. You are my friend before anything else, no matter where you sit at my table.”

The kobold nods, satisfied.  “You’re forgiven.” A mischievous glint lights Kyungsoo’s dark eyes as he tilts his head at the dragon.  “Since we’re friends—and you’re at the _servant’s_ end of the table—I’ll appreciate your help washing up after dinner.”

“Of course,” Xiumin says, shoulders and forehead relaxing.  “Anything for my dear friend.”

The fearsome beasts exchange easy smiles, then Xiumin turns his attention to Jongdae, who is working hard to conceal his amusement behind huge bites of jokbal.  He pets the shoulder of Jongdae’s jumper, purring at the softness a little before making a click of dismay.

“Your fermented shrimp are all gone,” the dragon frowns.  “They’re important for good digestion. Here—have some of mine.”

Xiumin holds his own shrimp-laden chopsticks out toward Jongdae’s lips.  Unable to hide his fondness or his judgement, Jongdae obligingly opens his mouth to accept his dragon’s cosseting.  Xiumin’s face glows, eyes curving into crescents and lips spreading wide across his cheeks to reveal pretty pink gums as Jongdae allows himself to be fed.

Xiumin’s brows lift as Jongdae returns the favor, grabbing a slice of jokbal in his chopsticks to poke between the dragon’s lips.  Jongdae smirks around his mouthful of salty shrimp as the dragon closes his eyes and hums in delight at being pampered in return. _Big needy baby, indeed._  

The kobold gags.  “It’s probably best that we sit together at this end of the table from now on, new kitchen boy.  It would be _awful_ if we caught whatever terrible disease those two have.”

Jongin’s murmur of agreement does nothing to dampen Xiumin’s smile.

#  **❄❄❄**

But Xiumin’s not smiling anymore when dinner’s over and Kyungsoo asks Jongdae to help his new kitchen boy to the human bathing area.

“I want him to soak that ankle in the hottest part of the baths for a good half-hour or so,” the kobold directs.  “I’ll have a poultice to wrap it in when you’re done. And speaking of herbs—” Kyungsoo darts into the kitchen, returning with a glazed ceramic pot packed with pale yellow citrus-scented paste.  “Use this to condition your hair, both of you. It’s the cat’s pajamas.” He arches a periwinkle brow ridge meaningfully.

Jongdae grins as he accepts the herbal offering.  “Yay! Thanks!”

But Xiumin scowls as Jongin throws an arm across Jongdae’s shoulders, using the shorter human for support as they carefully head off down the icy hall.

“I’ll go with you,” the dragon declares, standing up abruptly.

Kyungsoo tuts.  “I thought you were going to help your friend with the washing up?”

Jongdae has to bite his lip to avoid laughing at the stricken expression stamped onto Xiumin’s face.  Dragons may be big and strong, but they’re not exactly subtle.

“You help your friend, I’ll help mine,” Jongdae calls over his shoulder.  “Then I’ll show you that little magic toy.”

The dragon’s excited “Ooh!” echoes off the frozen walls as the pair of humans rounds the corner

Jongin smiles down at Jongdae.  “I never thought a dragon could be so whipped.”

Jongdae rolls his eyes.  “He better not think we’re gonna hand-feed each other every night.  I’d hate to have to stop wearing Luna’s cozy sweaters.”

“I don’t think it’s the sweater—though it is really soft.”  Jongin strokes the wool with the arm draped across the knit fabric.  “I think your dragon is jealous because of _me_.”

Jongdae laughs as they enter the steam-filled antechamber.  “That seems unlikely. I mean, first of all, I’m under contract to serve him for seven years.  And even if I weren’t, he can’t possibly believe I could ever want anyone else after what we’ve shared.”  

He provides a counterbalance as Jongin lowers himself to sit on the ornate bronze bench opposite the icy mirror, envious of the taller boy’s grace, even when injured.  “Uh, not that you’re undesirable—you’re exactly the sort of dancer I’d have drooled over if your troop had deigned to stop in such a tiny village as Siheung.”

Jongin huffs in amusement, undressing himself with a lack of self-consciousness that must come from changing stage outfits together with his troupe.  “I’m not offended. And you can tell your jealous dragon that I’m the furthest thing from a rival. I appreciate physical beauty and I get really attached to people sometimes, but while I love cuddling, swapping body fluids with someone doesn’t interest me at all.”

“Well, Krystal’s sure going to be disappointed to hear that,” Jongdae says, much less shy about his own body in the presence of someone so casual about their own nudity (and apparently entirely uninterested in ogling him).  It’s not awkward at all when the taller boy supports himself against Jongdae’s bare shoulders as they make their way into the warm water.

“Dude, I’ve tried to tell her!  She always just starts crying about not being good enough for me and other dumb things.  I hope Amber can mellow her out while I’m gone. She’d be fun to hang out with if she didn’t want to make out with me all the time.”

Jongdae smiles, remembering Baekhee and her invasive tongue.  “Maybe try telling her your dick doesn’t like girls?”

Jongin lets go of Jongdae to spread his arms and slump backwards into the hot bath with a happy sigh.  “I thought about that, but I’m afraid she’d just try to set me up with a guy or something.”

“Hmm.”  Jongdae ponders as he rubs shampoo into his own scalp for once.  “You could pretend to date someone else. Not me, though—let’s not torment the poor dragon further.”

“Just tell the silly girl you belong to me.”  Kyungsoo trundles into the room carrying a large basket containing various pots and long white strips of cloth.  “You’re my new kitchen boy, not her boy toy. She’s not to harass or distract you, especially while you’re in the kitchen.  Just because I stocked up on remedies for cuts and burns doesn’t mean I’m eager to use them.”

Jongdae laughs but Jongin sputters, eyes bouncing anywhere but the kobold.  “I-I couldn’t,” he finally articulates.

Kyungsoo sets the basket down, grabs the diabolical scrubbing-stick,  and draws himself up to his full height, gazing down at the bathing humans imperiously as he strides into the water.  “And why not? Too good to be associated with a kobold?”

“N-no, it’s not that—” Jongin stammers.

Applying the scrubber to his new kitchen boy’s shoulders, Kyungsoo tilts his head.  “Ah, so it’s only that I’m the color of an anemic blueberry?”

“Of c-course not!  Your scales are beautiful!”  It’s cute how the statuesque human tries to make himself into a tiny ball under the kobold’s soapy assault.  “It’s because I’m not good enough to be associated with _you!_  You’re so wise and you can cook so well and you’re willing to teach me stuff.  I don’t want anyone to think you’re not a good mentor, since I don’t know anything yet.  I mean, I can’t even walk without help or write my own name. If you’re going to claim a human, you should get a better example than me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Kyungsoo scoffs.  “An opal still has value when it’s freshly unearthed.  Even though most of the colors are hidden, they’re still there—the stone just needs some polish.  And so do you. You’ll glow by the time I’m done with you.”

Jongin looks rather like he’s glowing already between his red cheeks and his exfoliated body.  It’s gratifying that someone besides Jongdae can blush that much, and it’s nice to wash his own skin with a much gentler cloth.

“Y-yes, Chef,” Jongin mumbles before obediently dunking himself to rinse off the soap.

“Good lad.  Now, both of you rub that citronella conditioner into your hair and let it sit while my new kitchen boy’s ankle soaks in the heat.  Master Xiu is pacing the halls like a caged beast, and when he finally runs out of patience—I give it another ten minutes, max—you can rinse off and get out.  The dragon will carry off his prize, I’m sure, and the commotion will be my cue to come treat and wrap your ankle.”

Jongin’s hunched shoulders relax when the kobold hands the scrubbing stick off to Jongdae and strides back out of the room.

Jongdae loses the wager of how long it’ll be before Xiumin comes looking for him, but at least the dragon politely greets Jongin, assisting him out of the water and helping him into a robe before leaving him on the bronze bench to await the kobold’s medical attention.

But then he does indeed scoop up his laughing coruscant, bodily carrying him off to the bedroom.

#  **❄❄❄**

“Is this a cat toy?” Xiumin asks, looking down at the contents of the little wooden box Jongdae had picked up at the Chained Up tent.

Jongdae releases a nervous chuckle.  “Uh, they’d probably like it, actually.  But no—it’s for us.”

The dragon blinks down at the egg-sized object, made of highly-polished gold shaped and etched to look like a smooth, hunkered-down version of a small animal Ravi had informed him is called a “gerbil.”  It has a tail about three times the length of the body, made of close-fitting links of smooth gold chain, evidently enchanted to prevent said chain from pinching delicate flesh. On the end of the chain tail, there’s a faceted sphere of garnet that the gem-obsessed dragon runs an appreciative finger over before catching Jongdae’s gaze and lifting a single angled brow.

Biting his lip, Jongdae lifts the toy out of the box, placing the body in the dragon’s palm.  He clasps the garnet between thumb and forefinger, and says, “One.”

Immediately, the gerbil’s body starts buzzing gently in Xiumin’s hand.

Xiumin’s eyebrows shoot up and his raspberry lips form an adorable O as he blinks at an already-blushing Jongdae.

“It, uh, goes up to eleven.  In intensity, I mean.”

Icy eyes just blink again before that gorgeous face cants to one side.

“It’s for, um.  It goes… inside.”  Jongdae’s face is on fire.  How the hell can Ravi casually explain this sort of thing to strangers?

“Inside?” the dragon repeats.

“Inside,” Jongdae confirms.  “Uh, instead of fingers or… a dick?”

The raspberry O pinches at the sides, slowly flattening into a smirk.  “My bashful little ex-virgin is bold indeed, I see!” Xiumin closes his hand around the buzzing toy, abandoning the box on the small round table.  “Do you really expect to shove a vibrating rodent up a dragon’s ass?”

“Or mine!” Jongdae hastens to offer.  “If you want—whichever you want. And it’s not an actual rodent—the faun who made it assured me no animals were harmed in the process!”

Xiumin is laughing in that beautiful, rolling way that makes Jongdae’s chest feel a little tight.  “Ah, fauns,” he sighs. “They live for music and fucking, and are exceedingly good at both. Heavens forbid they turn their clever hands and devious minds to true mischief.”

He pulls Jongdae towards him, holding the vibrating toy against Jongdae’s chest.  “What sort of game should we play with our new toy, my bold little human?”

Jongdae’s face is so hot he’s surprised it hasn’t melted off his head.  “Uh, well, the faun said that since I’m, uh. More sensitive than you are… It could help even things up.”

The dragon gives him a wicked lear.  “So you _do_ want to stick a rodent in my butt.”

Jongdae gives up, slumping forward to rest his forehead against Xiumin’s shoulder.  “Ah, why are you like this?” he whines.

“Me?” Xiumin chuckles.  “Why am _I_ like this?  Who’s the one that explained to one of nature’s horniest heroes that he couldn’t keep up with a dragon in the sack and needed beady-eyed backup?”

“You know what?  I lied. It _is_ a cat toy.  Where’s Tan? I’ll just get her to bat the damn thing under the bed or something.”

“Oh no,” the dragon purrs.  “I told you it was dangerous to spark a dragon’s hunger, and now you’re about to get devoured.”

He leans close to murmur in Jongdae’s blazing ear.  “How intense do you think you’ll have to set the wee beastie to get me to make undignified noises for you?”

Jongdae shivers.  “Infinity, probably,” he grumbles.  “But since it only goes up to eleven, I’ll have to content myself with trying to get you to finish before I do.”

“Sounds like a challenge to me.”  Xiumin tosses Jongdae and the toy onto the bed, then hands him the pot of oil.  The dragon then lounges back against the pillows, spreading his legs shamelessly and stroking himself a little.  

Jongdae is pretty sure all of his sanity has leaked out of his ear.  How is he supposed to function when presented with Xiumin’s perfect face smirking at him over this lewd display of the dragon’s assets?

“Well?” said smirking dragon prods, when for several long minutes, Jongdae’s failed to do anything but stare at him and breathe (and the latter only barely).  “It doesn’t count as a win if you merely watch me stroke myself off.”

“It should,” Jongdae whines.  “Can you at least stop being so sexy for a minute so I can think?”

“I’m naturally like this,” the dragon gloats.  “So what do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know, just—talk about something un-sexy to distract me while I try to touch you without having a stroke.”

Xiumin laughs.  “Something un-sexy?  What about clouds? I fly through a lot of them, you know, and I think my favorite are the big fluffy cumulus ones.  They’re just misty and soft, not like those harsh wispy cirrus ones...“

Jongdae sighs in relief as the dragon continues to chat about the various forms of moisture in the sky.  He can do this. He just needs to slick the toy, and then—

“It’d be more polite to put at least a finger or two in me first,” Xiumin mentions so casually it takes Jongdae a moment to realize the comment isn’t about clouds.  

Whining wordlessly, Jongdae glares at the dragon sprawled out before him.  “Just shut up and talk about clouds.”

“I can’t shut up _and_ talk about clouds,” the dragon points out, but then he makes a satisfying little grunt of surprise when Jongdae’s slick finger probes between his legs.  The dragon is much better at staying relaxed than Jongdae is, so his finger slides inside with very little preamble.

“You’re so hot!” Jongdae gasps as his finger disappears into the dragon.  

“You feel hot inside, too, my bold, blushing Gem-Dae,” Xiumin rumbles.  “So hot and slick and tight, when I push into you it feels like I’m sliding directly into the molten center of the earth.”

“Stop!” Jongdae whines.  “Clouds!”

“Clouds aren’t hot when I push inside of them.  They’re usually rather chilly, all that water suspended up high in the wind like that.  Sometimes they’re actually pretty icy…”

Jongdae manages to get two fingers inside the dragon without dying, and he then flicks them upward, toward Xiumin’s belly, earning a very gratifying moan.

Xiumin moans again when Jongdae slips the oiled-up toy inside him, then yelps when Jongdae grasps the garnet and says, “Three.”

“How do you expect me to prep you properly when you’ve distracted me like this?”  Xiumin complains, breathing more quickly than usual.

Jongdae smirks.  “My fingers are already slippery—I can prep myself.  You just lay there and watch me and think about clouds.”

“I am definitely not thinking about clouds right now, devious Dae.”

Yet surprisingly, the dragon stays put, merely fisting the bedding instead of putting his hands on Jongdae as he preps himself before the dragon’s heated gaze.  Unsurprisingly, he comments on everything Jongdae’s doing, telling him how hot he looks between commanding him to add another finger, stroke himself deeper.

When Jongdae buries three fingers inside himself with a moan, Xiumin pushes himself up on an elbow.  

“You’re ready,” he declares.  “Gonna fuck you so well.”

“Gonna fuck myself,” Jongdae counters, pushing Xiumin’s shoulder back against the bed.  

The dragon’s furrowed brow smooths into a lecherous smile as Jongdae straddles him and positions himself over Xiumin’s eager cock.

“Is my bold little human going to pin me down and make me take it?”

“Figured it was my turn.”  At least, he had once he’d seen the lewd stick-figures decorating the inner walls of Ravi’s tent.

Xiumin moans as Jongdae impales himself on the dragon’s cock, then groans when, after taking a moment to adjust, he reaches behind himself for the gerbil’s tail and says “Four.”

Strong fingers clamp onto Jongdae’s hips, encouraging him to move on Xiumin’s cock.  Jongdae adds his own moans to the ongoing litany as he bounces, slowly and carefully at first, then with more vigor as he gets the hang of the movement.

“Dae, you’re going to end me,” Xiumin pants.  “My magnificent, mischievous Gem-Dae.”

In response, Jongdae pauses for a moment, reaching back and saying “Five.”

When they reach “Six,” Xiumin’s face starts doing very interesting things, constantly in motion as Jongdae slides up and down.  At “Seven,” Jongdae can feel the vibrations in the dragon’s abdomen whenever his ass meets Xiumin’s hips. At “Eight,” Jongdae _finally_ gets to hear the majestic dragon make some rather non-majestic noises.

Jongdae can’t bounce on Xiumin’s dick anymore because he’s laughing too hard.  The dragon sounds a bit like a hungry donkey, a bit like an irate wolf, a bit like a crowing rooster.  He’s squeezing Jongdae’s hips so hard he knows he’s going to have fresh fingertip bruises in the morning, and his face is scrunched up as if he’s about to sneeze.

But no further bouncing is necessary—all Jongdae has to do is squeeze his muscles around Xiumin’s twitching cock, and then it’s throbbing inside him as the dragon’s voice rises to a crescendo and his face melts into relief.  Jongdae quickly reaches to set the toy back to “Zero,” having been warned by Ravi that it might be rather unpleasant once the game has concluded.

For several long moments, the dragon lies limp against the bedding, panting harshly, eyes tightly shut.  Jongdae’s proud smile slips into a grimace of concern.

“Min?”  

No response.

“Min, are you alright?”

The dragon groans, lifting an uncooperative arm to pull Jongdae down beside him.  “Gonna have to touch yourself,” Xiumin mumbles into Jongdae’s neck. “I am well and truly ended.”

“Does this mean I win?” Jongdae gloats a bit as he wraps his hand around his own cock.

“I’m sure you cheated.”

“Aww, is the great and mighty dragon ashamed to admit he was taken down by a mere human and a toy rodent?”

“Not ashamed.  Astonished.” He peels an eye open to regard the human in question.  “Where did you say you got that obscene little object?”

“From a faun in Suncheon’s marketplace.  He had a whole tent full of, uh, interesting things.”

“Huh.  Then you are incredibly lucky that market day ends at sundown.  Otherwise I would be rather tempted to pay this faun and his _interesting_ tent a visit.”  

Xiumin fumbles his fingers around Jongdae’s hand, helping to squeeze and stroke the human’s cock until he moans long and low and coats their hands in pleasure.

Jongdae wonders how long it’ll be before the dragon lets his coruscant attend another market day.

#  **❄❄❄**

One evening, about three weeks after the eventful trip to the market, Jongdae is helping Jongin and Kyungsoo prepare dinner as usual.  Thanks to Jongin’s vastly-improved ankle, Jongdae had been able to spend most of the day in the conservatory with the enchanted instruments, going over one of the songs from his new book.  

He really likes the upbeat tempo and the sweeping orchestral arrangement, played perfectly by the animated instruments.  He can’t resist singing his favorite part as he does his least-favorite job: plucking the feathers off yet another of Kyungsoo’s poor hens that ended up pounced to death by a leopard.

“In this world, the thing I need to live is you.  In this world, we don’t know the future, but let’s paint it together.  In this world—”

Jongdae’s voice breaks and he swallows hard.  Setting his jaw, he glowers down at the poor dead chicken, pulling feathers from skin with renewed vigor.  That scorebook was a terrible idea. He should have found some songs about adventure, or drinking, or—

“Aw, why’d you stop?” Jongin complains from beside the cookfire where he’s turning a spit of mutton.  “I’ve sung at the inn a few times, but you’d make way more tips than I ever did.”

Jongdae swallows his stupid squishy feelings.  “You think they’d let me work there, then? My mom’s an alewench, I can wait tables and—”

Jongin laughs.  “They’d probably love it.  But why would you ever want to sing for drunken merchants when you could be a dragon’s private troubadour?”

“Eh, that’s just a temporary gig.  I have to find something else when my seven years are up, and I’d rather not go back to Siheung.”  Not that he’s bitter about being carted off to be eaten.

(Okay, he’s a _little_ bitter.)

Kyungsoo snorts, basting the roasting meat with a sauce-laden version of the infamous sponge-on-a-stick.  “Do you honestly believe the master is going to kick you out?”

Wary of the kobold’s incredulous tone, Jongdae looks up from the half-plucked carcass.  Kyungsoo is considering him, looking vaguely amused, head tilted to one side.

“Well… yes?  I mean, he’ll have no obligation to me once the contract is up.”

Both Kyungsoo and Jongin stare at him, Jongin like he’s unsure what’s going on and Kyungsoo like he’s dealing with an idiot.  

“Jongdae,” the kobold says, using the I-can’t-believe-I-actually-have-to-explain-this voice that Jongdae has heard so many times before.   “What does the master like to call you?”

“Uh, lots of things.  Handsome human, darling Dae, Gem-Dae, Jongdae-jewel—”

“Exactly.  And what does the master hoard above all else?  What does he never let me spend?”

“Um.  Gems?”

“So, why exactly do you think that the mighty dragon would ever let his _favorite_ jewel leave his hoard except under extreme duress?”

Jongdae stares at the kobold, hardly daring to breathe, hardly daring to hope.

“Do… Do you think he’d let me stay?  Longer than seven years?”

“Jongdae.  If you don’t demand to be allowed to leave, the master will happily keep you here forever.”

“Really?”  Jongdae’s chest feels like it’s about to burst.  “Are you sure?”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes.  “Of course I’m sure. You’re the absolute pinnacle of his treasure trove, the crowning glory of his hoard.  He fucking _adores_ you, and not just for fucking.  He has fluffy mammal feelings about you.”

When Jongdae just stares at the kobold, Kyungsoo huffs, turning to Jongin for backup.  “Tell him, new kitchen boy.”

“He’s totally whipped for you, dude.  I told you this the first day I was here.”

“But wanting to keep me close and content so I’m a good lay isn’t the same thing as having feelings,” Jongdae protests.  He knows Xiumin is fond of him, but what can a human really mean to a dragon, besides a pretty little pet?

“What’s this about feelings?” Xiumin asks, striding into the room to drape himself over Jongdae’s back in his typical I’m-bored-lonely-and-or-hungry attention-getting gesture.  “Who’s having feelings?”

“Master Xiu, tell your precious jewel that you like him and you’re keeping him, so he’ll quit fretting about his future and get back to work.”

“What?” The dragon’s arms tighten around Jongdae’s waist.  “Of course I’m keeping him. Why? Has one of the Suncheon singles asked for him?  Because they can’t have him. He’s _mine_.  I’m not giving him up to any—”

But Jongdae has heard enough.  He drops the dead chicken, wipes his feathery hands on his apron, then turns to cradle Xiumin’s gorgeous face and kiss those raspberry lips.  

The dragon’s pleased little hum at such treatment quickly turns into a lusty purr, and his hands wander down Jongdae’s body to settle against his ass.

“More hen-plucking, less face-sucking,” Kyungsoo calls from the cookfire.  “If the master insists on staying, he can help his coruscant sort the feathers into feather-duster and pillow-stuffing baskets.”

Xiumin breaks the kiss to glare at the kobold.  “You said he was fretting. I’m de-fretting him.”

“I also said I wanted him to get back to work.”

“And please make him sing some more,” Jongin requests.  “Turning the spit isn’t the most exciting job.”

“Neither is sorting feathers,” Xiumin pouts.  “If I stay and help you, you definitely have to sing for us.”

“Fine,” Jongdae agrees, stealing another kiss before releasing his dragon and picking up the hapless ex-chicken again.  “Any requests?”

“Oh, oh, do that ‘Watch Out’ one,” Xiumin smirks.  “That’s just how I felt about you the first time I saw you.”

Jongdae huffs in fond amusement.  Of course the lusty dragon likes the song about debauching an innocent.

“Which song represents how you feel about him now?” Jongin calls from the cookfire.

Xiumin doesn’t even hesitate.  “‘In This World,’ of course.”

“Ah, I forget what that one’s like,” Jongin says, which is a fucking _lie_ because Jongdae was just singing it earlier.  “How does the first line go again, Master Xiu?”

The dragon licks his lips.  “Baby, you know I love you,” he sings, giving Jongdae a sweet little smile.

Jongdae feels his face heat.  Jongin may be entirely uninterested in sex, but he certainly seems all too willing to promote romance.  Jongdae will have to thank him by taking Jongin’s next turn at latrine duty or something.

“I’ll sing ‘In This World’ after ‘Watch Out,’ then,” Jongdae informs the dead chicken in his hands.  

“Hooray!” Xiumin chirps.  “My two favorites, back to back.”

“Aww, Chef, they’re so cuuuute!”

“I’d rather have them happy than moping.  We’re definitely going to need the earplugs tonight, now, though.”

“We need them every night anyway.”

“True.”

#  **❄❄❄**

It isn’t until the following fall that Jongdae sees the village of Siheung again.  He hadn’t actually intended to ever return, still quite hurt that his mother and his friends would let the elder send him off to die.  

But when he’d last gone with Xiumin to pick up Jongin from his weekend stint at Suncheon’s inn, the mutton clearing was surrounded with trees that looked like they’d been set afire by the dawn.  The red and orange leaves had reminded him of the maple trees on Baekhee’s family farm, which made him think of his childhood friend, which made him think of the child she’d have given birth to by now.

And that made him think of his mother, and how both of her sons (and both of their fathers) had left the village, never to return, and that made him a little sad.  She’d kept him safe and well and had been more indulgent of his singing than most, and it wasn’t her fault Siheung had a contract with a dragon. Perhaps she deserved to know that at least one of the men in her life was well and happy, besides her self-serving brother.

So he’d gotten Xiumin to fly him down to his old village, riding on his back thanks to a leather harness (studded with gems, of course) that he and Jongin had cleverly devised, tired of being transported in a cargo net like sacks of potatoes.  

(“I am not a beast of burden!” Xiumin had snorted, icy mist billowing from his flared nostrils.  “I am not some domestic creature to be _ridden!_ ”

“You let me ride you all the time,” Jongdae had pointed out with a smirk.

“That’s different,” Xiumin had said.

“I don’t see how—in both cases you’re naked and moving beneath me for my pleasure.”

There had been a beat of dangerous silence as the dragon stewed in indignation.

“Fine,” he’d said eventually.  “Make a fucking harness. But it had better be _pretty_ , and Jongin can’t ride me unless you’re there, too.  Otherwise it’d feel like cheating, and I promised I’d never even look at anyone but my Gem-Dae—even if he’s turned out to be the wickedest little troll.”)

At least Jongdae’s a troll that returns triumphantly to the village that condemned him, riding in sparkling style on the back of a shimmering dragon.

They land right in the middle of the village square, all occupants fleeing in terror.  Except for one, a stubby-legged, stubby-tailed little copper-colored dog that runs right up to the dragon’s feet, barking it’s fool head off.

Xiumin tilts his head, lowering it down to examine this feisty little beast that he’d hardly even have to swallow.

“Please don’t eat him!” a shrill voice calls, and Jongdae is smiling before he realizes it, before he can see the face of the girl he grew up with.  

He un-clips himself from the harness, descending from the dragon’s back gracefully with the aid of an angled iridescent wing (because practice fucking _pays off_ when one is trying to impress people one is still feeling fairly salty toward).  He also gets thoroughly barked at by the fearless prick-eared beast before Baekhee manages to dart across the square and scoop the dog up, struggling to hold the wiggling thing.

Then she freezes, which allows the dog to squirm free and resume his auditory assault on the amused dragon.  

“Jongdae?” she asks, puppy eyes wide, mouth gaping into the rectangle Jongdae knows so well.

He smiles, and then she throws herself at him, sobbing into the collar of one of Sehun’s embroidered silk shirts as Jongdae pats her back soothingly.

“Is it really you?” another deeper voice asks.

Jongdae nods, smiling up at the innkeeper’s lanky son, now a father himself—a fact evidenced by the tiny bundle worn in a sling across his chest.

Baekhee pulls herself away from Jongdae’s snotty shirt—something he’d care more about if he didn’t belong to a dragon that could erase messes with a twitch of his fingers—and straightens up, smoothing out her dress and wiping her eyes.  

“How are you still alive?  Were you so annoying that you ruined the dragon’s appetite?”  Her eyes dart from Jongdae to the massive creature beside him.

Xiumin laughs.  “I found him quite charming, actually.  But even if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have eaten him.”

It’s kind of cute how Chanyeol and Baekhee gape in unison.  It’s even cuter how Chanyeol wraps his giant body protectively around the infant strapped to his chest.

The dragon rolls his eyes when the pair doesn’t move.  “Look, I like eating mutton. Hence the contract. But even if I liked eating people, does it make sense that one human would be a replacement for seven years of delicious sheep?”

Baekhee’s brow furrows.  “Then what do you do with them?” she asks.  

“Educate them, train them, find them a career or a spouse or both.  They become productive citizens of another village, which in turn grants me rights to their sheep.”

“But that’s not in the contract,” Baekhee objects.

“It most certainly is.  I carved it myself.” Xiumin lifts his head to look around.  “Where is your village elder? And where is the contract?”

“Uh, I think I saw Elder Lee hop into the horse trough over there,” Chanyeol points toward the public water pump.

“Fool,” Xiumin snorts, pitching his voice to carry.  “That might have been useful if I were a _fire_ -breathing dragon.  But since I _freeze_ my prey instead, drenching oneself in water only makes it that much easier for me.”

There’s rather a lot of splashing and spluttering and hasty, soggy footsteps from the direction of the horse trough as Elder Lee makes himself more scarce.

Baekhee shakes her head, fists resting on her hips.  “Coward!” she yells. Then she turns back to the icy dragon, performing a pretty bow.  “Oh shimmering, sheep-eating dragon, I am Park Baekhee, at your service, and I’m much more useful than that fearful old fool anyway.”

“Park?” Jongdae questions.

“Yeah,” Baekhee grimaces.  “Dad made us get married, of course.”  She prods her husband toward the dragon.  “This is my husband, Park Chanyeol, and he’s strong and handsome and loyal and hardworking, so I’m willing to overlook his lack of mental agility.”

“Hey,” Chanyeol says indignantly, but the fact that he does so half a beat after the dragon’s amused snort only prompts another.

“And _this_ ,” Baekhee continues, eyes going soft as she lifts the impossibly-small human from the shelter of her oversized husband’s arms, “is our daughter, whom I sincerely hope takes after me.”

She hands the child to an incredibly-flustered Jongdae, who tries not to panic as the tiny thing instinctively rubs her face against his non-lactating chest, much to her mother’s amusement.

“Kim Jongdae,” she announces with maternal pride.  “Meet Park Jonghee.”

Jongdae stares down at the little face nuzzling against his shirt.  She has her father’s dimples, evident when she puckers her wee lips.

“You named her after me?” Jongdae asks through a suddenly-tight throat.

“I named her after _me_ ,” Baekhyun corrects.  “And after this annoying guy I used to know that was tragically eaten by an evil dragon.”

She collects her child from Jongdae’s shaking arms, returning her to the safety of the sling across her father’s broad chest.  “But since that guy is apparently not dead and the dragon is apparently not evil, then I’ve named her after my great-aunt Jongeun.  That guy was annoying enough without giving him a big head, right, sweetie?” She tickles the baby’s cheek with an elegant finger.

Jongdae pouts but Xiumin laughs.  “I do like the sassy ones,” he declares.  “But I also like when contracts are fully understood and properly followed by both parties.  Since Elder Lee has evidently abandoned his post, I appoint Park Baekhee Siheung’s new village elder.”

The dragon dips his torso in a respectful bow.  “Dae, fulfill your coruscant duties.”

Rolling his eyes above a smile, Jongdae steps forward.  “Good morrow, ladies and gentleman. I am Jongdae, coruscant of the ever-honorable, highly-venerable ice dragon Xiumin, accompanying the great and mighty Blizzard himself, here to discuss the fulfillment of the ongoing contract with your respected elder," he recites, dipping his own torso towards his childhood friend.

Baekhee applauds.  “Oh, bravo, JjingJjingDae.  You might be mistaken for a respectable adult any day now.”

“He is maturing quite nicely,” the dragon agrees.  “Now then, Elder Park, would you care to show us this contract?  I’d like to ensure everything is in order well before the next virgin is due on my doorstep.”

“Of course, Your Pearliness.  The contract is kept in the village hall for everyone to see.”  She eyes the dragon before starting off across the square. “I think your neck should reach inside enough to see the wall that the tablets are hanging on—”

“They’re hanging on a wall?” Xiumin sputters.  “Like, permanently?”

Baekhee frowns.  “I think so? I mean, they’re supported by these huge nails hammered into the oak, and—”

“But how is anyone supposed to read the other side, then?”

Baekhee freezes, then spins on her heel.  “Other _side?_ ”

“Park Chanyeol, cover that infant’s ears,” the dragon commands.

The lanky man obediently presses his daughter’s tiny head against his chest with an enveloping hand.

“Frigid _fucking_ hells, this village has evidently been run by shit-brained morons for decades!” Xiumin seethes.  “I’ll be returning with my seneschal, who is small enough to enter human buildings and strong enough to undo whatever fucking nonsense has been done to the tablets.  If the text is intact, we can resume business as usual, or what _should_ have been business as usual, anyway.”

He lifts his head, looking around for the excommunicated Elder Lee.  “But if the contract has been damaged or defaced, that puts this village in breach of said contract, and _nothing good_ comes from fucking with a dragon,” he bellows.

Jongdae suppresses a smirk.  In his experience, _plenty_ of good things come from fucking with a dragon.

#  **❄❄❄**

It turns out that the tablets are fine, having merely been pinned to the wall by massive iron nails around their edges.  Kyungsoo re-mounts them on a pedestal in the center of the village hall, ensuring future generations can properly understand the agreement between dragon and village.

Elder Lee decides to retire, for completely unrelated reasons, of course.  He conveniently happens to name Baekhee as his successor.

Jongdae’s mother is delighted to see him—and so is his brother Jongdeok, returned from the sea with pair of half-grown cabin boys he’d pulled from the waves onto a lifeboat when their ship had exploded under a pirate’s cannonfire.  Their bright natures and obvious devotion to their rescuer more than makes up for the fact that a cannonball had consigned one of Jongdeok’s feet to the sea. The trio takes over the general store, since their Uncle Donghoon has taken up drinking heavily after seeing Jongdae “return from the dead.”

Over the next several years, the store becomes more successful than it’s ever been, and, inspired by his pleading wards, Jongdeok invests his profits in the community, building a library and a dance hall as well as a proper theater to attract more bard shows and other performances.  Siheung grows and prospers, and Jongdae visits his family and friends often. He especially enjoys participating in the annual talent show held in the new theatre, showing off an entirely new song to the rapt village each time.

He still loses the Best of Show award every year to Xiumin’s sinful dance performance, because Elder Park is on the judging panel and she has a thing for the dragon-man’s tiny little tush.

Several years after Jongdae’s first encounter with the tall, handsome elf, the four mountain-dwellers are invited down to Suncheon for Captain Lu’s marriage to Sehun the tailor, an event which is the biggest party the village has seen for decades.  Both grooms are impeccably dressed, of course, in elaborately embroidered outfits that seem to shift color as often as Sehun’s hair.

After dancing all night with an easily-intoxicated partner who still has more enthusiasm than skill, and then finding out the wedding couple’s clothes are enchanted to help their wearers hold their liquor and prevent hangovers, Xiumin commissions a similarly-embroidered shirt for his precious Jongdae-jewel.

The elves’ wedding cake is baked in the inn by Kyungsoo, who has unfortunately never managed to keep his chickens from being devoured by the master’s feline friends.  Instead, he’s started raising cockatrices, which are both better-adapted to the underground environment and tend to turn any predators to stone. Their eggs give his cakes a pleasant, unique taste, and he really enjoys coaxing favors from the dragon in return for dosing his new “statues” with cockatrice antivenom, restoring the disgruntled cats to flesh and blood.  

His greatest achievement is trading the restoration of an entire litter of Tan’s grandchildren for a single quarter-carat diamond from Xiumin’s hoard.  He keeps the tiny stone in an elaborate display atop the mantle over the cookfire, so he can glance at it and gloat periodically throughout the workday.

The wedding cake is decorated beautifully by Suho, who has mastered his hobby after years of feeding his diligent attempts to his co-workers.  He’d improved his precision and technique through an elaborate program of pitting his left hand against his right one, piping simultaneous lines of flourishes or creating tandem royal icing roses until both hands were incredibly dextrous and skilled.  These days, it’s a point of pride for the guards to convince Suho to decorate their birthday cakes more elaborately than the next guy’s, but the guard captain’s wedding cake is truly his finest work, leaving his co-workers both proud of their friend and a bit disappointed that their future birthday cakes will pale in comparison.

Before the end of the night, one of those co-workers ends up in the drunk tank along with his incredibly-embarrassed lover after attempting to have his way with Elder Wu behind the village hall.  The elder convinces everyone never to speak of this again, and conducts his leadership of the village with dignity and honor just like he always has. Tao ends up doing three weeks of community service teaching martial arts to Suncheon’s youth, and enjoys it so much he makes it a regular part of his routine.

Yixing the faun and Ravi the faun also end up in the drunk tank together for refusing to keep their shirts on and dancing on the tables with entirely too much hip-thrusting.  By sunup they’ve developed an enthusiastic plan to create a line of animated instruments that play smooth jazz while pleasuring the user. Their most popular model is a saxophone that simulates oral sex while playing a loud, repetitive tune they’ve ironically named “Careless Whispers.”

The following summer, Jongin’s former dance troupe is delighted to find their fully-healed erstwhile member in Suncheon’s inn.  They beg him to rejoin their company, but Jongin is quite content to make delicious food for Suncheon’s residents and visitors on the weekends, spend weekdays working side-by-side with his favorite kobold, and weeknights cuddling said kobold companionably by the kitchen fire.  By this point, he’s been elevated from “new kitchen boy” to “kitchen boy” and then to “Jongin,” and over the next several years he’s promoted further to “Jonginnie,” and finally to “Nini.” He considers this more of an honor than being named Head Chef at the inn.

Elder Park and her husband have three more children, all of whom are named after their mother.  Their eldest, Jonghee, does indeed take after her maternal parent in brains despite inheriting her father’s height, large eyes, and dimpled cheeks.  She’s sent up the mountain as the septennial village offering the year she turns twenty-one, much to her Uncle Jongdae’s delight.

Jongdae is less delighted when one damp autumn day, a few weeks after meeting Baekhee, Chanyeol, and Jonghee for the first time, he’s huddled in one of the blue velvet overstuffed armchairs by the fireplace in the master bedroom.  He’s absolutely miserable, sniffling constantly, suffering from a head cold he’s apparently caught from Xiumin.

His misery becomes alarm and confusion when he suddenly sneezes out a fountain of electrical sparks.

“Huh,” Xiumin says, bringing his ailing jewel a fresh cup of Kyungsoo’s herbal tea.  “Who did you say your father was again?”

“Mom said he was a trabeling troubadou’,” Jongdae sniffles around all of the snot invading his poor aching sinuses.  “She said he sang really well and his hair was dyed this bright electric blue and she couldn’t resist his charms.”

Xiumin grins at him.  “Well, based on the fact that only dragons get dragon colds, and the fact that you just sneezed electric snot all over my favorite sheepskin rug, I’m going to guess that your dad’s hair was naturally the same color as his scales.”

“Did someone say electric snot?” Kyungsoo appears seemingly out of nowhere with a shimmering jar that he shoves beneath Jongdae’s dripping nose.

“Scales?” Jongdae asks, blinking his rheumy eyes up at his too-happy lover.  He can hear Jongin making gagging noises from the hallway as the kobold follows Jongdae’s movements with the jar, evidently keen to catch every electric drop.

“Yep.  Or possibly your grandparent’s scales.  You’re at least a quarter dragon, my sparkling, sparking jewel.”

“I can fly?” Jongdae asks, feverish brain parsing information slowly.

“Probably not.”  Xiumin presses a kiss to Jongdae’s forehead and the teacup into his hands.   “But you’ll probably live for several centuries, which is approximately my own remaining lifespan.  And you’ll probably be able to learn a bit of dragon magic.”

Jongdae’s favorite spell is the one that charges his body with static electricity, equally effective in discouraging predation by hungry leopards and encouraging undignified noises from horny dragons.

#  **❄❄❄❄❄**


End file.
